Children of Prophecies
by jennyelf
Summary: AU- The generation of children born during the war with Voldemort had more than one prophecy made about them. How will the prophecies change things as we know it? This story will cover from Ginny's birth to Harry's arrival at Hogwarts.
1. Prologue

A/N: Just a few changes as this has now been beta-ed by my fabulous beta over a SIYE-- SpenserHemingway! Chapter 5 is coming soon, I promise.

Prologue

August 1, 1968--Diagon Alley

Bellatrix Black, a rising seventh-year Slytherin at Hogwarts, pushed open the door to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Her younger sisters Andromeda and Narcissa followed her into the shop.

"Why do we have to come here again?" Narcissa demanded in a haughty tone.

"I'm in need of new robes for Hogwarts of course. We must never show wear on our robes. Decorum must be maintained at all times from members of the Ancient and Noble Houses," the tall, thin witch instructed in her harsh voice.

"Your idea of decorum is not the same as the rest of us, Bella. Surely you are aware of that," Andromeda stated with narrowed eyes.

"Andi, please, don't bore us with your lack of Wizarding pride again. Now can we get some help around here?" Bella said churlishly, tossing her long thick hair over her shoulder.

As a shop clerk bustled over to help Bellatrix and Narcissa, Andromeda wandered around the small shop, not wanting to spend any more time in her sisters' presence than she had to. Andi felt it was bad enough that they looked almost enough alike to be considered twins. She glanced up when the bell over the door sounded. A vibrant redheaded young woman came into the shop. Andi knew they were relatives of sorts, but she had never gotten up the courage to talk to her Gryffindor cousin, Molly Prewett. Molly was beaming as she traveled from rack to rack.

When Molly spotted Andi, she, being in such a good mood, fairly sang "Good day to you Cousin Andromeda. How are you on this fine and glorious day?"

"I'm well, cousin. What makes you so cheerful today?" Andi, ever curious, was fairly content with her life as she was currently dating Ted Tonks, a Hufflepuff, especially since no one in her family knew about him. However, Andi was not bubbling over with joy the way the woman in front of her was.

"I… I've eloped! Arthur, you remember him; Gryffindor, my year, red hair? Actually, I think he is related to us as well somehow. Maybe his mother?" Shaking her head, Molly plowed on, seemingly unaware that she was sharing her news with a relative she had never spoken to before. "Anyhow, I am now Mrs. Molly Weasley." She squealed quietly, showing off her wedding rings to Andi.

"Andromeda, really, the company you keep!" Bellatrix insinuated herself between Andi and Molly, rolling her eyes at her sister.

"Yes, well, we can't all be you, can we?" Andromeda said very succinctly. "Actually, I am in need of some new robes. Molly, congratulations. I hope you are very happy."

Andromeda reluctantly joined her sisters by the dressing rooms. Narcissa was inside trying on some dress robes. Bellatrix was tapping her foot very impatiently waiting for her younger sisters. The shop clerk quickly measured Andromeda, asking quietly, "Slytherin?" before adding the Slytherin patch and details to her robes. Andi noticed Molly still puttering around the shop, looking at all the racks.

The bell above the door sounded again, this time announcing the arrival of a very old, haggard-looking witch. Andromeda stopped to completely take in this unusual looking woman. Her robes were frayed at all seams with its jet-black color faded into a milky grey. The hood of the robes covered her long grey hair. Andi noticed that the woman was so tiny that it appeared that she had several Shrinking Spells placed on her over the years. Her skin was pale, but blemished. Its paper-thin quality resembled an old worn bag barely able to contain its contents. Her piercing grey eyes that were searching the room with a sense of purpose twinkled in the light reminding Andi of her Transfiguration professor Albus Dumbledore. Andromeda thought she was possibly the oldest and frailest person she had ever seen. Her thoughts were interrupted by her older sister.

"They let just anyone in here, don't they?" Bella sneered in an icy, haughty tone.

The old woman ambled slowly towards Molly Andromeda noted. _Maybe Molly knows her._

When the elderly crone had drawn close to Molly, she reached her right hand toward the former Gryffindor and grasped Molly's left forearm. Molly looked surprised at the grip of the older lady. The ancient witch's eyes began to cloud over until a glaze consumed them. Her voice, showing the strength of authority carried across the room.

_"A daughter shall be born unto you. She shall have the power to restore all that is lost…"_ At this, the woman's voice broke. She continued in a whisper to Molly that neither Bellatrix nor Andromeda could hear as Narcissa came storming out of the dressing room.

"Well, none of these work. How am I supposed to catch the attention of Lucius in these inferior, horrible robes?" Narcissa fumed. "We simply must go somewhere else." She and Bella made their way to the door, leaving the shop.

Andromeda glanced back over to where Molly was now straining to support the older witch as it looked like the woman had collapsed. Andi hurried over to Molly.

"Here, let me help you," Andi told Molly. She reached over to grab one side of the lady.

"I think…I think she is dead," Molly whispered, her face pale and drawn--a complete contrast to the beaming look that had been present moments before. Andi and Molly together lowered the witch to the ground. Neither witch knew what to do now. They just contemplated each other with identical scared, confused looks.

"What should we do now?" Andi whispered to the older girl.

"Shouldn't she go to St. Mungo's?" Molly mumbled back.

"So how do we get her there?" asked Andi.

Molly's face brightened as she remembered the emergency stretcher that every shop in Diagon Alley was equipped with.

"_Accio_ _stretcher!_" Molly called, pulling out her wand. Andi helped Molly put the woman onto it. She watched as Molly activated the Portkey attached to the apparatus that would whisk the older witch straight to St. Mungo's emergency floor.

After a moment of silence, Andi spoke up. "Congratulations again, Molly." Saying this, she smiled, and then grimaced as she went on to add, "I better go find my sisters. I'm hoping to have some influence on Cissy, but I'm afraid she is more like Bella in temperament and attitude than I am in looks."

"Good luck with that, then. It appears that I have another stop to make before I can go home to start dinner," Molly stated as both young women moved towards the door.

"Hopefully I will see you around. Again congratulations." At Andi's final words, the two separated to go their own way. Andi went in search of her sisters.

Molly, however, Apparated to Hogsmeade. She went to the Three Broomsticks and asked Rosmerta if she could use her Floo for a call. Rosmerta gave permission, which led Molly to Floo-call her former headmaster.

"Professor? Are you there? Oh, please, say you are," Molly pleaded.

"Molly Prewett! Are you okay? You don't look yourself," Albus Dumbledore responded. Molly was too confused to correct the Professor.

"Professor, may I come visit? I have a story to tell. I think you can help me figure out exactly what happened."

"Certainly. Come right on through."

Molly stood up, thanked Rosmerta and walked into the fire calling Dumbledore's office. Once there, the Professor offered Molly a lemon drop. After politely refusing, Molly related everything that had happened in Madame Malkin's shop. When she told Dumbledore what the woman had looked like, Molly thought she saw a look of recognition in his eyes. Dumbledore startled when she repeated the woman's words to her: _A daughter shall be born to you. She shall have the power to restore all that is lost to the one who holds her heart. She shall be the key to the end._


	2. Arrivals and Departures

A/N: This has now been run past by my beta at SIYE- SpenserHemingway! So I am updating it here. Thanks to all who have reviewed and alerted this story!

Chapter One--Arrivals, Departures and Plans

August 11, 1981--Hogwarts Castle

Albus Dumbledore, a bearded old wizard, sat behind the desk of the headmaster's office of Hogwarts, contemplating his next move in his battle with Lord Voldemort. He thought back over the prophecy foretold by Sybil Trelawney at her interview. Should he share the prediction with the parents of the two boys who the divination could be about or not? When should he warn them? He didn't want to take away the childhood freedoms that both boys should be enjoying. iTiming is so key/i, he thought to himself.

Just then his Floo flamed green and the head of an exhausted Arthur Weasley floated in the grate.

"Professor!"

"Arthur, I've told you before. It's Albus. Now what can I do for you?"

"Years ago, before Bill was born, Molly made me promise if we had a girl that I would inform you as soon as all the family calls were made. Well, we have a beautiful little girl; Ginevra Molly. She's such a tiny thing, especially in comparison to Ron," Arthur told Dumbledore.

"Congratulations, Arthur. I'm sure Molly and you are exhausted. Enjoy your new addition," Dumbledore said in dismissal.

"Thank you, Professor. Well, I have several more calls to make. See you later."

Dumbledore leaned back in his chair, his hands steepled together touching his mouth. He wondered how this news, recalling the prophecy from eleven years ago, would impact his previous musings. Ruminating a little longer, the venerable wizard finally made his decision. The Longbottoms and the Potters would have to be told.

November 2, 1981--Hogwarts Castle

Albus Dumbledore sank into his chair behind the headmaster's desk. Alastor Moody's head was floating in the fireplace grate, having just dispersed the news about Sirius Black's murder of Peter Pettigrew and the innocent Muggles.

"How could I have misjudged him so badly, Alastor? He seemed nothing like the rest of his family," Dumbledore sighed, mentally reviewing the memories he had of Sirius.

"Perhaps that was the problem. At least from the rest of the Black clan, you knew what to expect," Alastor said.

"Like you said perhaps, but this definitely validates my placing Harry in a secure place. He must be kept safe at all costs. I fear retaliation from the Death Eaters."

"If I know you, you will have put him in the safest place you possibly can. Now I need to go. More of those Death Eaters to catch. Plus, an alarm just went off letting me know someone is entering my office. I hate Floo-calling. It leaves my backside unprotected," Alastor growled as he backed out of the grate.

Dumbledore sat, reflecting on the events of the last two days. Evidently Sirius Black betrayed the Potters by leading Voldemort straight to their home in Godric's Hollow. James and Lily both perished in their successful attempt to save their only son's life. Dumbledore's face revealed his deep sorrow at the loss of two of his former students and the orphaning of their son. He wondered whether his decision to place Harry, James and Lily's son, with his Muggle aunt was the right one. Minerva McGonagall, his deputy headmistress, had expressed her disapproval yesterday in Surrey. She warned him that they were the worst kind of Muggles, but he had created blood wards using Lily Potter's sacrifice to its fullest extent. Unfortunately, Lily's only blood relative was Petunia.

While Dumbledore ruminated on his decision, the door to his office blew open. Standing in the doorway was a furious-looking, dark-haired witch. Her average height, compact body was crackling with magical energy. Dumbledore knew that while this witch might be average-looking, she was by no means average when it came to magic. No, Alice Bones Longbottom was no shrinking violet in magical terms. He wondered what she was so upset about. He soon found out.

"Where is my godson?!" Alice demanded in an even, measured tone. Her voice sounded much like a metronome.

"Godson? Who is your godson madam?" the headmaster asked with a very confused look. "Why would I know where he is, whoever he is?"

"Harry James Potter, that's who. My best friend Lily Evans Potter's son. Sirius Black and I are his godparents. Frank just came home and told me about James and Lily as he had just helped capture Sirius. So with James and Lily gone, and Sirius going straight to Azkaban without a trial, I am the only legal guardian of Harry," Alice slowly explained. "Even though I don't think that Sirius could have done anything remotely like what he has been accused of, my first priority must be Harry. With me, he already has a friend and playmate in Neville. Please Headmaster; you must see that Harry belongs with us."

"Alice, I'm sorry, but at least for the next fortnight, Harry must remain where he is. Trust me, he is safe. I have created the strongest wards possible to protect him."

"Safe? Safe? Is that all you care about? What about his emotional well-being? Is he with someone he knows? Is he with someone who will care for and love him?" Alice shouted.

"He is with a relative and that is all I will say. Please go home to your child and keep him safe. There are still Death Eaters who have not been captured. They could try to get their revenge," Dumbledore tried to reassure Alice, but had no luck.

"Harry is with a relative? You don't mean that magic-hating sister of Lily's, do you? Merlin, I wouldn't leave Narcissa Malfoy's son with her!"

"Regardless of whom I put Harry with, as a member of the Order of the Phoenix, you are charged with following instructions," Dumbledore stated calmly with raised eyebrows. "Now, please go home to Frank and Neville. Be happy that Voldemort chose the child more like himself."

"You want me to be happy that my best friend and her husband died? How unfeeling are you?!" Alice looked livid. "Fine. I can see that I'm getting nowhere. I know if I were to take this to court, you would block me. But, trust me on this one, if anything bad happens to my godson as a result of this, Merlin help you, because I will make you pay." At this, Alice stormed out of the room.

Dumbledore was now truly perplexed at these revelations. Had he indeed made the right decision or was it only the easy one? Should he place Harry with the Longbottoms? They had Neville, who was already a playmate of Harry's. Frank and Alice were purebloods who could teach Harry about magic, which he had already started displaying. They already knew of the prophecy. At this point, if he took Harry from his aunt and needed to return him for any reason, he would be unable to recreate the blood wards. At his aunt's, Harry would have a less-pressured childhood as he would undoubtedly be famous for years to come in the Wizarding World. Dumbledore did not know what to do.

His Floo connection flared once more. The old wizard sighed as he was summoned to the Ministry. He quickly gathered himself to Floo there; his thoughts of Harry Potter retreating to the far reaches of his mind.


	3. Plans

A/N: This has now been edited by my wonderful beta from SIYE-- Spenser Hemingway! Thanks to all who have reviewed and alerted or favorited the story!

Chapter Two--Plans

November 5, 1981--Black Hall

Andromeda Black Tonks opened the front door to Black Hall cautiously and poked her head inside, looking for signs of movement. She crept inside making sure to remain as quiet as possible. Silently she sent up a thanks to Grolly, a family house-elf that remained loyal to her even though she had been disowned by her family. It was because of Grolly that she could even come there that day. The house-elf had helped her bypass the wards her older sister Bella had set up so that she could come get some things of her mother's as well as others she had been forced to leave behind when she married Ted.

Andi still couldn't believe that her mother was gone. While she and the woman hadn't always seen eye-to-eye on everything, Andi had a better relationship with her mother than she had with her pureblood supremacist father. He had died a couple of years before and quite honestly it didn't disturb Andi that much. Her mother's passing was like a giant hole that enveloped her heart, especially on top of her favorite cousin Sirius' betrayal. She had believed that Sirius was nothing like the rest of their family, but apparently she had been wrong. Why though would he present a false façade to the whole family?

Just then she had to get back to the reason she came to the Hall. She wanted to get a couple of things to give to her daughter Nymphadora that had been in the family for generations. The heirlooms were to be passed down from female to female. As her daughter was the only female of the younger generation, Andi felt Nymph deserved to have this piece of her legacy.

Andi went through the house quietly, collecting the items, not wanting to draw any extra attention to herself as the Hall and all its contents, bequeathed to her by Cygnus Black, technically belonged to Bella now. Just as Andi was gathering the final things, the Floo in the sitting room flared.

"Bella?" A pale young man's head appeared in the grate. Andi stopped as he could see her plainly. She thought quickly and decided to adopt her sister's persona since she didn't want the person to tell Bella that she had been there. Andi desperately hoped that this young man didn't know Bella that well or her charade might be all for naught. For once in her life, she thanked Merlin she looked like her sister.

"Yes?" Andi replied in her sister's sneering way.

"I think we are all set with plans to break down the wards at the Burrow. We have attained the location from some Ministry workers. We have acquired the necessary knowledge of the wards through bribing some rogue goblins from Gringotts." Here the young man seemed to hesitate before rushing on to say, "Are you sure that this plan is wise? I mean, why are we going through all of this trouble for a baby?"

Andi turned around as though she was not going to listen to the protestations of the man in the grate, but really she was frantically trying to figure out what to do to get out of there. A thought suddenly struck her and she turned back to the grate.

"You insolent fool! You dare question me, the Dark Lord's favorite! Get out of my sight until our attack. Go!" Andromeda had to work very hard to pull off Bella's indignation that Andi knew she would feel. The wizard left in a hurry. Now she knew she needed to get out of there before someone else found her that she couldn't fool. Andi quickly Apparated home.

"Mummy!" Andi's eight-year-old daughter came running to greet her mum.

"What have you been up to lately, Nymph? I see that your appearance has changed again. Hmm… you are wearing your 'I've done something and I don't want to get punished for it' look," Andromeda asked giving her daughter an intuitive look.

"Well," Nymphadora said, stretching out the word as far as she could. "I didn't mean to. It was all Daddy's fault. How was I supposed to resist when the cookies were lying out on the counter?"

"Nymph, did you eat all the cookies?" Andi asked through gritted teeth.

"Yes, Mummy," the girl whispered very meekly, glancing up at her mother while keeping her head down. Nymphadora then bit her bottom lip.

"It's okay, darling. I can make some more later. You're not in trouble this time," Andi said with a smile and a hug. "Now run along and play in your room for a little while. I need to talk to your father."

"Okay Mummy!" The little girl went skipping off to her room. Andi watched her daughter disappear down the hall before going to find her husband.

"Ted, I just had a very frightening experience."

"Dromeda, did you run into that Death Eater sister of yours? Are you hurt?" Ted rushed to his wife very concerned for her.

"No, I'm not hurt," she said, waving him off. "However, I learned about some plans that Bella has been working on. A fellow Floo-called and thought I was Bella. He mentioned something about the wards at the Burrow. I know I have heard of that place before, but I can't think of where."

"The Burrow is where Arthur and Molly Weasley live. You remember them from the Ministry's thirty-fifth anniversary celebration of Dumbledore's defeat of Grindelwald. Actually, didn't you say that you are related to them somehow?" Ted reminded her.

Andromeda thought back over the conversation she had with the young man. A baby…didn't she just read in the paper a few months ago that Molly had a daughter now? All at once, the memory of the old woman in the shop came back to her. iOh, no, Bella! Are you that desperate for the return of your "Dark Lord?" /i Andromeda thought. "I think I know what Bella is planning. She is going to kidnap Molly's daughter. Ted, what can we do?"

"Well, I think the first thing we do is warn Arthur and Molly. Imagine if it was Dora--wouldn't you want someone to alert us?"

"Do you know where the Burrow is, Ted?"

"No, but I'm sure they must have a Floo connection with their six or was it seven kids?"

"I'll head over first thing in the morning."

"Dromeda, don't you think you should go tonight?" Ted said with a skeptical look.

"Ted, there are lots of reasons for me waiting to go in the morning. One, I don't really know the Weasleys that well. Yes, we are related, but I've only spoken to Molly once before. I have never even met Arthur. You seem to forget, which I am happy about, that I was raised a pureblood witch and had the proper etiquette drummed in me. One doesn't go over to people's houses without first sending an owl. One also doesn't intrude on family time as the evenings are the only time the fathers usually have to spend with their children." Andromeda got a far off look in her eyes at this announcement as if she was remembering something very unpleasant. "In some families, that family time was happy and full of laughter; but with others, it was a time to learn some very unpleasant things." She shook her head. "No, I can't go storming in over there, full of warnings. That would be very Gryffindorish. I am not that brave."

Ted put his arms around his wife and gave her a slight squeeze. "You were brave enough to marry me."

"That wasn't bravery. That was a matter of necessity. I couldn't have survived without you. I love you and always have. Besides, I never would have sided with my family so I would have been kicked out anyway."

"And you say you aren't brave."

"I'm not. If I was, I would have been fighting my family, not avoiding them. Getting back to the matter at hand, I don't know how I will be received by Molly," Andi said plaintively. "Will she even believe me? I mean, I don't know if I would believe Lysandra, another cousin I've rarely talked to, if she came and told me what I'm going to tell Molly. For all I know, she could just consider me another one of those iSlytherins/i. Plus, I don't really see Bella rushing into this plan. If it means bringing back You-Know-Who like I think it does, she will want to make sure that everything is perfect before making her move."

"All right. Wait until the morning then. Now I think it is past time for dinner. Where's Dora?"


	4. Warning of Attack

A/N: 7/25-- I was researching something for Chapter 5 when I discovered a timeline saying that Bill didn't start Hogwarts until 1982, so that changed some minor things in here. I am working on Chapter 5, I promise.

A/N: 8/25- This chapter has now been beta-ed.

Chapter Three--Warning of Attack

November 6, 1981--The Tonks' House

Andromeda got up the following morning and wrote her letter to Molly. After giving the parchment to Perseus, her eagle owl, she saw Nymph off to school and Ted off to St. Mungo's for work. Nymph, as usual, hemmed and hawed about going to school since it was a Muggle school where she could not change her appearance at will. Nevertheless, Ted had insisted that his 'Dora' be instructed in Muggle history and culture. Andi really didn't have a problem with this; but for some reason, Nymph really didn't like school. When the house was empty, Andi readied herself to visit the Weasleys.

* * *

Molly Weasley, mother of seven children with all of them under the age of eleven, was washing dishes when a strange eagle owl swooped into her kitchen. With a puzzled look, she took the letter and retrieved some owl treats for the bird. Molly opened the note and read.

_Molly, _

_I know it has been several years since we talked. I recently found out something which concerns your family. I would like to visit this morning to share with you these developments. Will you allow me Floo access to your house? I will await your response._

_Andromeda Black Tonks_

Molly stopped and placed the note against her lips, contemplating. Turning the parchment over, she collected a quill and ink to reply.

_Andromeda,_

_Floo access is available. I have to get the children settled, but you are welcome to come. _

_Molly_

She was puzzled as to what it was that Andromeda had found out. Thinking about the visit, she would offer Andromeda some tea so that meant the boys would need to be in the sitting room. Molly quickly headed back to the kitchen to get her boys started as Andromeda came through the Floo. Molly introduced her children and then shooed Bill, Charlie and Percy into the sitting room to work on their school assignments that Molly had already laid out for them. She told Fred and George to go into the sitting room and color. As they were already in the habit of getting into mischief, she asked her older sons to keep an eye on them while doing their schoolwork. Next Molly conjured a playpen for Ron in the kitchen where she set up a mobile to entertain him by sending out bubbles every so often. Ginny was already napping in a small basket on the floor by the sink.

Andromeda watched Molly take charge and get everyone where they were supposed to be without once raising her voice or getting cross. She marveled at Molly's ability to handle seven children while sometimes she seemed to flounder with her only child.

"Thank you, Molly, for allowing me to come today. I know you are probably wondering what on Earth I have to talk to you about, but just bear with me, please," Andi said, looking very worried.

"Andromeda, you are more than welcome in my home, but I must admit that I am curious as to what it is that you have found out."

"Unfortunately, the news or rather warning that I must bring to you today is about my sister Bella," Andi shared with the slightly older witch. "You are aware that the majority of the Blacks sided with You-Know-Who, right?"

"Yes, but Andromeda, surely you have heard that Harry Potter defeated him just a few days ago. What difference does that make now?" Molly questioned, still confused.

"Let me share with you my story," Andi related. "Yesterday I went to my ancestral home to collect some things that I wanted of my mother's. She passed away a few days ago and I knew from Grolly, one of the house-elves, that my sister would not be home. While I was there, I was mistaken for Bella during a Floo-call. The young wizard, who I must say did look vaguely familiar, mentioned breaking down the wards around the Burrow. Then he questioned her about going through a lot of trouble for a baby."

"A baby?!" Molly interjected. "She is going to do something to one of my babies?" Molly turned and looked at Ron playing with the bubbles in the playpen. Next she looked at her precious girl napping in the basket. "Why on Earth would she do something to one of my babies?"

Andi bit her lip before continuing, "Molly, do you remember the old woman in Madam Malkin's?"

"Of course. I mean, how could I forget someone who died in my arms?"

"I think Bella intends to use your daughter in some way 'to restore all that is lost'," Andi gently said.

"But Ginny can't restore all that is lost. The witch said that she could restore all that is lost to the one who holds her heart. Bella definitely will not qualify there," Molly scoffed at the idea that her daughter could help restore You-Know-Who.

"So that is what she said. We only heard that she could restore all that is lost. Everything after that was a whisper we couldn't hear because of Cissy," Andi said with a dawning realization. Bella would come after a baby that would not be able to help her. Andi sighed. "I fear your whole family is in danger."

Molly looked at Andi and then motioned to follow her into the sitting room. Against an exterior wall was a huge wooden grandfather clock. Molly pointed out the hands that showed each member of her family. Eight of the hands pointed to "home". Arthur's hand was stationed on the "work" section. It was after she noticed where everyone was that Andi spotted the section for mortal peril.

"Andromeda, until October thirty-first, every hand on this clock was pointing to mortal peril. Once You-Know-Who was defeated, it went back to showing me the locations of everyone. It's not that I don't believe you, but how could a baby restore anything? I imagine that Ginny will fulfill that prophecy, if indeed that was what it was, when she is older," Molly explained.

Andi, seeing that Molly was resolute in her belief that her family was safe, knew that she would be wasting her time trying to convince Molly otherwise.

"If things change or you need anything, let me know. I had an idea about a way to keep your daughter safe, but since you don't believe that she is in any danger, I will just see myself out," Andi said stiffly.

"Oh, Andromeda. I didn't mean to sound patronizing or anything like that. It is just… Well, I thought I was done worrying since You-Know-Who is gone. I don't want to go back to that scared person again. I was in constant terror that something would happen to Arthur or the children and refused to go out," Molly explained. Then hanging her head, she continued, "Not very Gryffindor of me. Anyway, thank you for coming to tell me. I will take precautions, but really what can I do?"

"My idea is rather drastic and I hope that you won't find the need for it. Just remember that I have a plan if you need one. Thank you for your hospitality. I'll just borrow your Floo to return home." With that, Andi took some Floo powder offered by Molly and disappeared in a flash of fire.

Molly considered everything that she was told. Bella was supposed to be one of You-Know-Who's most fierce followers. Even Molly, who was not one who went out and about with all her children during the dark times, had heard terrible stories of Bellatrix Lestrange nee Black. Looking at the clock again, Molly shrugged with the thought _I have to believe that if anything was going to happen, the clock would tell me._ Then she returned to the kitchen to finish putting away dishes without noticing that the smallest hand on the clock was ever so slowly moving.


	5. Attack

A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and put this story on their story alert. Now on to the story!

A/N2: In writing Chapter 5, I found that I need some details added to this chapter to make the next one flow better, so there are very minor changes. Thanks to all reviewers and people who have added this to their story alert! Jenn

A/N3: 8/25: This chapter has now been beta-ed. 8/27 Thanks to mhersheybar's review on SIYE. I have now reworked the battle scene.

A/N4: 5/18: Thanks to E.M. Praetorian for catching my paragraph that appeared twice. It's fixed now. :)

Chapter Four-- Attack

Molly thought about Andromeda's visit for the rest of the day, trying to decide if she should mention to Arthur. Finally, she came to the conclusion that she should tell him. She resolved that as they were preparing for bed for the night, she would describe what had happened that day.

Arthur, being the very mild-mannered sort, wasn't too terribly upset when Molly waited until bedtime to tell him about a visit from a relative. However, when she told him about the warning, he started to come unglued.

"You are telling me that Andromeda thinks that her sister might be after our princess?" Arthur said very heatedly, changing into his pajamas.

"Yes, but really, Arthur, it can't be that bad, can it? I mean, You-Know-Who is gone. People everywhere are celebrating still according to the Daily Prophet. What can she do?" Molly wondered as she turned down the covers of the bed.

"With Bellatrix, one never knows. She has avoided capture, even though the Ministry knows that she has been cavorting with You-Know-Who," Arthur explained with an air of resignation. Turning to his wife with a puzzled look, he asked, "Why, pray tell, would that witch want our Ginny?"

Molly looked at Arthur with wide eyes, realizing that she had never told him about the old woman in Madam Malkin's. Her eyes raced around the room as though trying to find something to divert his attention. Arthur, however, came over to Molly beside the bed and clasped her hands in his. "Mollywobbles, whatever it is, it won't make me love you less."

"Back when we were first married, I went to Diagon Alley. I was so ecstatic. I mean, here I was living my dream married to the man I love." At this, Molly looked at Arthur with wide, shining blue eyes. "An old woman came into the shop where I was. She told me I would have a daughter who would restore all that is lost to the one who holds her heart."

"No wonder you refused to stop with Percy or any of the rest of the boys. You had to keep trying for a girl, didn't you?" Arthur teased.

"Arthur, can you be serious?" Molly said, hitting him lightly on the arm. "Bellatrix and her sisters were in the shop that day. Andromeda thinks that the message is why her sister would come after Ginny. Apparently they didn't hear everything the woman said."

"So how does Andromeda think Bellatrix would use Ginny? She is only a baby, for Merlin's sake."

"That is what I said. You don't think we need to worry, do you?" Molly questioned, looking slightly apprehensive.

"No. We have our wards. Plus, you, my dearest wife, are quite a formidable witch," Arthur murmured into Molly's ear, pulling her down onto the bed.

Over the next few days, Molly's slight uneasiness lessened each day that nothing occurred until she barely remembered that there was anything to be worried about. It wasn't until the following week that Molly wished that she had listened more to Andromeda.

Molly was outside with her children going through her normal Tuesday routine when it happened. One minute she was hanging clothes on the line and listening to her boys playing "Doxy, Doxy, Pixie", the next a spell flew past her face, crashing into a tree behind her, blowing it up. She barely had time to grab her wand before a voice yelled from somewhere out of sight, "Remember, do what you want to the others, but don't hurt the girl baby!"

Her mind raced trying to figure out what to do first. Dimly recognizing the biggest threat was to Ginny, she snatched her wand from the pocket of her robes to summon the playpen that Ron and Ginny were dozing in. Without breaking a step or even looking to see if they followed her directions, she yelled to her boys, "Quick! Inside the house now!" Dropping the playpen, she rapidly reached inside to grab the two babies before racing into the house, dodging spells that were flying around her.

As she pushed the door to the kitchen closed, Molly turned to look around the room, leaning against the door. Her older children were huddled in a small group near the stove with terrified looks on their faces. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she whispered to Bill and Charlie to take the others and hide upstairs. After seeing Bill, whose face became very determined, give a nod before he started pushing the others up the stairs, she then turned to the children in her arms. Knowing that she couldn't fight with no arms free and that she didn't have a lot of time before they would be knocking her door down, she glanced around the room. Noting the scullery door slightly ajar as if someone had been sneaking biscuits, she settled on placing the children there. Quickly shutting the door behind her, she hurried back to the doorway to find out what was going on.

Two masked, hooded individuals stood outside the door to the Burrow. Molly quailed inside, wondering how she was going to get out of this situation. _How could I have been so stupid to not believe Andromeda? Why didn't I take this threat seriously? Because you didn't want to believe that anyone could be after your children, _Molly thought to herself. Thinking that no one would be able to come to her aid as she didn't have a way to contact them, she decided to face the two outside.

Opening the door and casting "_Confundo_" at the taller of the two people, she launched her attack. The cloaked figure seemed dazed after the spell hit as if surprised that the occupants of the house went on the offensive.

Inside, Molly gave herself a small pat on the back but knew it wasn't over yet. The other one jumped behind a hedge. Watching the bewitched wizard wandering around the yard like someone who had too much firewhisky, Molly frantically racked her brain for the spell to tie someone up. Searching through her memories of the precious few dueling instructions that she had in school, she could not recall the charm. She opted to use "_Depulso_" on him, hoping to banish him out of the yard.

At that moment a voice shouted "_Imperio_." A curious feeling came over Molly. She wondered what she had been doing and why she had felt like she had been worried. Everything was wonderful. She heard a voice within herself telling her to go get her daughter. _Her lovely Ginny, her precious daughter,_ she thought to herself. Without even realizing that she was moving, the witch slowly meandered her way back into the house with only thoughts of how perfect everything was running through her mind.

Bill stood on the third step of the stairs, craning his neck trying to find his mother's figure in the kitchen. He kept sweeping his right hand behind him, trying to shoo his brothers Charlie and Percy further back up the stairs. At least the twins weren't down here bothering him while he was formulating a plan to help his mother. Spotting his mother coming out of the scullery marching towards the kitchen door. He edged a little closer to the kitchen, wishing that he had the wand that he knew he would receive for his birthday. Sounds of shouting came from outside and Bill could see lights from the spells that were cast. Noticing that his brothers were still there, he turned to them and hurriedly whispered, "Mum said to hide! You should be upstairs!"

"So should you," Charlie retorted back, narrowing his eyes at his brother.

"As the oldest, it's my responsibility to take care of all of you. Besides…" Bill's whisper broke off as he saw his mother walking back through the kitchen with a silly grin on her face. It was a look that he had never seen on his mum's face in his almost eleven years of life. A pang of utter fear shot through him as he saw his brothers share a panicked look. That fear deepened as he saw his mother carrying his little sister Ginny as if there was not a care in the world. Bill threw his body in front of his mother, only halfway noticing that his brothers had followed him.

"Mum! Mum! What are you doing? Who's attacking us? Why do you have Ginny?" Bill stammered at his mum, pulling on her hands to try to get Ginny out of her arms. A sound followed by a light came from the doorway. The sounds of Percy screaming reached Bill's ears and he turned to see his brother doubled over with a pained look on his face. Looking towards the doorway, he saw a witch holding on a wand on his brother. The witch's hood had fallen down to reveal long dark black hair that surrounded a face that was dominated by heavy-lidded eyes. Bill felt a shiver run down his back at the sight of those cold, hard eyes. A look of pure bliss covered her face and he realized that she liked to cause pain. Shaking his head to clear it, he heard footsteps pounding down the steps behind him. With a determined look on his face and in his heart, Bill, along with his three brothers, turned as one towards the witch and flung out their arms as if to physically push her out of the house. Bill watched the witch fly out of the door and straight into the fence surrounding their garden.

Seeing a movement out of the corner of his eye, he turned to see his mother let out a wail at the sight of Percy. His brother, who was normally very meticulous about his appearance even at the age of five, was lying on the ground with his hair messy and his clothes and glasses askew. The pain that Percy had been feeling from the curse was still apparent in the way that his limbs seemed to curl up into his body that was shaking with sobs. Ginny was thrust into his arms as his mum gently lifted Percy up, murmuring that she was going to take care of him.

Asking Charlie to go get Ron out of the scullery, his mum led all of her children to the living room to Floo them to St. Mungo's. Not taking the time to look at the clock in the corner which had seven hands pointing to Mortal Peril and the smallest one at a new category In Danger, Molly grabbed the Floo powder and away she and Percy went.

Arriving in the waiting room, she immediately rushed up to the desk labeled INQUIRIES, totally ignoring the ebb and flow of conversations around her. Bill sidled close to his mother while holding Ginny tightly as he took in his surroundings. Charlie, Fred and George, each twin holding one of Ron's hands while keeping Ron between them, just gaped at the sight of all the people. They had never seen that many people before as the family tended to stick very close to home during the war.

"My son has had the Cruciatus Curse placed on him! Please help him," Molly pleaded with tears running down her face.

The witch behind the desk looked at Molly and children before she gestured, "Fourth floor- spell damage. Would you like me to get someone to help you carry him up?"

"No, I've got him. But if you could inform my husband, Arthur Weasley, I would appreciate it. He works in the Ministry in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. Please I need him," Molly begged, trying to hard to staunch her tears.

"Of course, I will be glad to. Now go on and take your son up to fourth floor, remember," the witch said gently.

Molly, with all her children in tow, carried Percy up to the fourth floor via the elevator. The children, other than Percy, looked around in amazement at the people bustling around the hospital. The healers, seeing the boy crying in his mother's arms, brought him straight back to an examining room. After being told what had happened, the healer told Molly that Percy should stay overnight and that he would give him some Dreamless Sleep potion for the night.

Shortly after the healer left to retrieve the potion, Arthur skidded into the room. Wrapping his arms around his wife, he kissed the top of her head. She broke down in his arms and Arthur just gently held her as she wept. The boys, other than Percy, came and huddled around their parents. Bill, who was still holding Ginny, went to his dad and gave him the look saying that she was getting heavy. Arthur took his daughter from Bill with one arm and held both of his girls.

After Molly wiped her eyes, she told Arthur everything that happened. Arthur immediately sent a message to the Aurors to have someone sent to the Burrow. Next, he found a piece of parchment to write a note to Dumbledore. He asked Charlie to go find an owl and send the message. After a short discussion, Molly and Arthur decided to let the children stay at the hospital. Gathering the rest of the family in his arms, he Conjured a huge bed for all of them to lay down together and get some rest.


	6. Aftermath

A/N: Sorry it took so long. I had to work this week after last week of being away. Now I have writing time again. I am still trying to get baby Ginny where she has to be but some characters keep talking to me and delaying the plan. Thanks to all reviewers and all who have added to their story alerts! Jenn

A/N2: 8/25- This chapter has been beta-ed.

Chapter Five-- Aftermath

Dumbledore arrived at the Burrow and took in the destruction. The door to the kitchen was hanging from one hinge at the top of the frame. The windows were shattered from the outside. Debris littered the garden area outside the kitchen. Apparently whoever had been here had thrown a major tantrum when they realized that Molly and family had gotten away. The older wizard stepped up onto the stone slab in front of the cock-eyed door.

Looking into the house, Dumbledore could see a couple facing away from him towards the stairs that were using their wands to draw intricate patterns in the air. Unsure as to their intentions, he pulled out his wand and advanced into the home. Casting a Disillusionment Spell on himself, he carefully maneuvered around the shambles of the furniture in the room so that he was facing the couple. He mentally emitted a sigh of relief when he glimpsed Frank and Alice Longbottom working their Auror charms.

To prevent any misunderstandings, Dumbledore retreated back to the doorway and took off the Disillusionment spell. He then cleared his throat. Frank and Alice immediately spun with their wands out in front of them. Dumbledore held his hands up in front of him empty.

"I assume that you were called in as Aurors. Is that the case?" Dumbledore asked.

"We were. Arthur apparently asked for a team to come and see what had happened," Frank said as he knew his wife would not say much to the wizard standing before them. She was still upset about her godson. Alice suspected that Harry was with Lily's sister and even Frank knew that being there would not be healthy for Harry. The Auror, however, was aware that he was standing in front of the venerable Albus Dumbledore and would not refuse to share any information.

"Can you disclose to me what you have discovered?" the old wizard questioned, noticing the rather scorching looks that were being thrown his way by Alice. He looked at her with a confused expression on his face, but then turned away to listen to Frank.

"Evidently there was some very powerful accidental magic that took place here. Someone was thrown from the house, but not with a wand. Plus the magical signature was inconclusive almost as if it was more than one that had somehow managed to combine. We haven't talked to the family yet. We wanted to see the site first and gather what information we could before other magic could obscure the magical resonance of the attack. Strong Dark magic was performed here, but we'll know more once we've interviewed the Weasleys," Frank informed Dumbledore.

"Might I make a suggestion?" At Frank's nod, Dumbledore continued, "Wait until tomorrow morning to talk to the Weasleys. They have been through a horrible ordeal and need their rest."

"Unlike others who shall remain nameless," Alice said scathingly, speaking for the first time, "we listen to advice from our friends on how to handle others. We shall visit with Molly and Arthur in the morning." With that, Alice made a half-spin and Disapparated away. Dumbledore was shocked to discover that the protective wards that had been in place around the Burrow, which included an Anti-Apparition ward, had been destroyed.

"I'm so sorry, sir," Frank stated, shrugging his shoulders. "I…I…I'll go talk to her."

"No worries. I think I've figured out why she is upset, although I had forgotten in the busyness of my life as of late," Dumbledore assured Frank.

"It still does not excuse the boorish behavior of my wife. Please excuse me while I go have a chat with her," Frank said stiffly, as if embarrassed by his wife's ill manners.

Dumbledore watched as Frank Disapparated away as well. He sat down heavily on the few chairs that had been spared the destruction. In the wake of all that was going on in the Wizarding world, the wizard had had few moments to call his own. Now he realized that he had completely forgotten Harry Potter and the dilemma of whether to place him with the Longbottoms or not. Plus, he still did not know what had happened here at the Burrow.

Deciding that he could not make any decisions until tomorrow, Dumbledore heaved his old bones up out of the chair and waved his wand soundlessly restoring the room to its original state. Walking further into the house to view the destruction, he noticed an unusual clock in the family room, which was partly in shambles. Flourishing his wand to restore the clock to its former glory, Dumbledore noted the placement of all the hands, most especially the smallest hand on 'In Danger.' Lookign around to make sure that he hadn't missed anyhting in the cleanup, the old wizard proceeded out of the house. After letting himself out, he continued to return things around the Burrow to its proper place. Giving himself a nod, he silently Apparated back to the gates of Hogwarts.

* * *

Later that night, Molly and Arthur Weasley were huddled around Percy's hospital bed. Cots had been conjured for Ron and Ginny. Bill, Charlie, Fred and George were sleeping sprawled out all over the bed that Arthur had Conjured for the family earlier. Arthur had been trying to coax Molly into lying down and resting ever since the children fell asleep, but she steadfastly refused, preferring to sit and wait by Percy's bed.

As Molly looked at him, she saw that his little thin face was still contorted into a horrible grimace as if he were reliving the experience over and over again. Molly silently sobbed, cradling her child's hand in between the two of hers. Arthur laid a hand on Molly's shoulder and slightly squeezed.

"Oh, Arthur," she whispered. "Why didn't I believe Andromeda?" She dropped Percy's hand to turn and bury her head in Arthur's stomach, throwing her arms around his middle. Arthur leaned down and put his mouth close to her ear to whisper to her.

"Let's go outside so we can talk, okay?"

Molly stood up and followed Arthur into the hallway. The fourth floor of St. Mungo's was very quiet especially compared to the hustle and bustle of earlier. Arthur looked around the area before gathering his wife in his arms.

"Molly, please don't blame yourself. You protected our children. You kept them safe. Yes, _WE_ should have paid more attention to what Andromeda said, but we don't really know her. For all we knew, she could have been the set-up person for Bellatrix or she could have been simply mistaken. Mollywobbles, please, I beg you, don't do this to yourself," Arthur implored his wife.

"But, Arthur, don't you see," Molly stepped back to look at him through tear-filled eyes, "I didn't protect the children. If anything, they protected me. I was going to hand our beautiful daughter over to Bellatrix. I couldn't fight her. Bloody hell, I didn't even want to fight her. What kind of mother is willing to hand over her child to one of the worst Dark witches of their time?"

"A human one," Arthur continued with a look full of compassion and love. "Dear, not many people can fight the _Imperius Curse_. Right now the ministry is overrun with people saying that they have been _Imperiused_. You at least broke free of it of your own volition. Don't you see how incredibly strong of a witch you are?"

"I'm not strong enough. I can't protect my own children. Arthur, I want to ask Andromeda what her plan was. She told me that she had one, but I refused to listen."

"Now, Molly, I am sure that Professor Dumbledore will find a way to help us. Let's just wait until morning and find out what ideas he has."

"But why can't I owl Andromeda and ask her to come here, too? That way, we get the most ideas," Molly exclaimed, unwilling to let go of the idea of contacting Andromeda.

"Why don't you wait until morning to owl Andromeda? Now, Molly, you really need to rest as you went through a lot today."

"Arthur Weasley, don't you dare use that patronizing tone with me!" Molly shot Arthur a death glare. "I know what I went through. You do not. I will not rest. In fact, we need to go back to Percy. I have to make sure that he is okay. After all, it's my fault that he was hurt to begin with." With this, Molly's eyes filled with tears again. She scurried back into the room, taking her self-appointed station beside her son's bed. Arthur, realizing that it was pointless to try to convince Molly to rest now, climbed in the bed he had Conjured to get some semblance of sleep.


	7. The Making of the Plan

A/N: So here I am at 2 in the morning finishing up this chapter. I should be in bed asleep as I am leaving for the mountains later today. (Don't worry, I will still be writing.) But I wanted to give you this cliffie before I left. Thanks to all those who reviewed and added my story to their favorites or alerts. You really make an author feel good.

A/N2: 8/25- This chapter has now been beta-ed.

Chapter Six--The Making of the Plan

The following morning Molly wrote two short notes. She took a quick look around and saw her whole family asleep. Percy's face was no longer as twisted in pain as before, so Molly thought she could slip out and send the notes without anyone being the wiser.

The moment Molly crossed the threshold to come back into the room, she knew that she should not have left. Percy was screaming at the top of his lungs while Arthur was attempting to hold and reassure him. Bill and Charlie were left trying to calm Ron and Ginny down as they were being fussy after being woken up by their brother's screams. Bill had Ginny in his arms and was swaying from side to side with her. Ron was sitting by Charlie with great big tears running down his scared-looking face. Charlie had his arms wrapped around Ron whispering to him. Fred and George were clowning around trying to make Ron laugh, which wasn't working very well.

Quickly deciding which battles to fight first, Molly first cast a _Silencing Charm_ on Percy so his screams couldn't be heard. Grabbing Ginny from Bill as she walked over to Percy's bed, she softly sang a lullaby while rocking her daughter in her arms. Seeing Percy calming down, Molly released the spell. Ron too was quieting down due to his mother's presence and singing. Slowly Percy, Ron and Ginny fell back asleep. Arthur was simply amazed at the sight. He knew that his wife had a very calming influence on their children, but this was the first time he had ever seen it that blatantly. Molly laid Ginny back in the cot. Arthur picked up Ron and carried him back to his cot.

"Now I know how you keep all seven children in line. If you ever doubt how much I need you, Mollywobbles, please remember this scene," Arthur stated, rubbing at his tired-looking eyes.

"Of course, dear," Molly responded. Continuing, she said, "With all that we need to do today, don't you think we should send the older kids to visit somewhere? I was thinking either Auntie Muriel's or maybe the Diggorys'. What do you think?"

"I think if the Diggorys are up for it, then that is where the boys should go. Of course it goes without saying that Percy should stay here until discharged. Plus, I don't think we should let Ginny out of our sight. Should we send the Diggorys an owl?"

Molly flushed guiltily. "I already did when I sent a note to Andromeda, asking her to come here."

"Now, Molly, I thought we were going to trust Dumbledore," Arthur responded sternly.

"I didn't say that we were going to go through with her plan; but face it, she is Slytherin, which means that she is calculating and understands her sister better than we ever could. If anyone could come up with a way to protect our Ginny, I really think she could. Plus, she is a mother. She can imagine what it would be like. Arthur, at least let's hear her out," Molly looked beseechingly at her husband.

"Oh, all right," Arthur finally gave in.

A brief knock sounded on the door. Shooting a spell at it, the door opened to reveal Frank and Alice Longbottom in bright red Auror robes. After seeing them, Arthur hurried over to usher them into the room. Alice glanced around the room, taking in everything. Molly was standing next to the bed where one of her sons was lying. It was evident, at least to Alice, that Molly hadn't slept last night as her hair was slightly mussed and her eyes were red-rimmed. Continuing to scan the room, she saw the other boys sitting together at a small table eating and whispering. Two small children were dozing in cots. One was a boy who looked to be about the age of her Neville and Harry. _Harry_, she thought with a pang in her heart. _Will I ever see you again?_ Alice felt like she was letting her best friend down; but she didn't know what else to do short of kidnapping Harry.

Frank had crossed to talk quietly with Molly and Arthur by the child's bed. Listening intently to Molly tell the story about what had happened the previous day at the Burrow, Frank took copious notes. After Molly's recount, Frank looked at Alice, who had joined the small group during Molly's story.

"Okay, so let me see if I can sum it all up," Alice looked at Molly. "A few weeks ago, Andromeda Black Tonks came by with a warning that her sister might be after your daughter. You talked it over with Arthur. You felt it wasn't necessary to do anything about the warning. Yesterday Bellatrix Black Lestrange came to your house, broke through your wards and proceeded to cast two Unforgivables- the _Imperius_ and the _Cruciatus_. She cast _Imperius_ on you to get you to hand over your daughter and _Cruciatus_ on your son, Percy when your boys tried to stop you. You managed to break the _Imperius_ and Floo everyone here. Is that right?"

Molly simply nodded.

"So who got rid of the witch? I mean, who stopped her spell on Percy?" Frank asked Molly.

Bill and Charlie, who had been listening while trying to look like they weren't, spoke up. "We did." Frank and Alice shared a triumphant look and turned to talk to the boys.

"Was it just you two, or were your twin brothers in on it as well?" Alice asked, crouching down in front of the boys' chairs.

"Fred and George were there with us," Bill answered. "I'm not really sure what we did, but I know how we do accidental magic when we are really upset. I'm going to be eleven in a few days. I would have been at Hogwarts if my birthday had been earlier, but now I am glad I was at home. It was scary. I've never seen my mum look like that before. I hope I never do again."

"Well, with the statement from you, Molly and the testimony of the Healers, who unfortunately have had more than enough experience with this Unforgivable Curse, Bellatrix Black Lestrange will be going to Azkaban for life right after her trial. This case is sewn up," Frank told them all.

"But that is once she is captured. What about right now? What if she comes back? I can't fight her. She is willing to do things that I can't. I will not use those types of curses in front of my children. I can't protect them," Molly broke down in tears.

Arthur gathered his wife in his arms and ran his fingers through her hair, comforting her. "I'm sorry about all of this, but it's been a long night after a really hard day. Molly is normally much more together than this," Arthur offered as an explanation to the Aurors.

"It's perfectly normal for this reaction," Frank reassured Arthur, "especially in women."

"And just what is that supposed to mean, Mr. Longbottom?" Alice demanded to know.

"Just that sometimes your emotions get the better of you. Notice I didn't say all the time," Frank held up his hands, trying to pacify his wife. Alice harrumphed in response.

"Weasleys, what will you do now?" Alice questioned.

"Dumbledore should be here anytime. We are going to ask him for ideas," Arthur replied. Alice looked at him in surprise.

"Andromeda is also coming as she told me that she had a plan when she came to warn me," Molly quickly interjected.

Just then, the two being talked about arrived at the door to the room.

"Beauty before age," Dumbledore said, gesturing for Andromeda to enter.

"Why, thank you, Headmaster," Andromeda responded. "Molly, I came as soon as I got Nymph off to school. What has happened?"

Molly retold the story once again, this time for the benefit of both Andromeda and the professor. After hearing about the curses that her sister cast, Andromeda stood up and started to pace.

"I can't stand her. I really can't. What in Merlin's name is she thinking? I swear, she has no heart in that body of hers," Andromeda ranted and then sighed softly. "Why should she be any different than our father who made sure to model her as closely as possible after himself?" Turning to Molly, she continued, "I'm so, so sorry, Molly. I wish that there was something I could do to make up for the suffering that you are going through."

Dumbledore, who watched Andromeda closely during her rant, was happy to note that she showed no signs of deception. Clearing his throat, he stood to offer his suggestion for what the Weasleys should do now.

"I think the solution is obvious. You must go into hiding until Bellatrix is caught. A _Fidelius_ _charm_ can be cast over where you hide. It shouldn't take our Aurors that long to find her."

"Oh, yes," Alice added in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Hiding with the _Fidelius charm_ worked so well the last time you suggested it."

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked with a confused look on his face.

"You mean you don't know? Lily and James Potter were hiding using the _Fidelius charm_ when Voldemort killed them," Alice said, staring at Dumbledore unblinkingly with unshed tears in her eyes. Dumbledore noted that Alice did not hesitate to say Voldemort's name. He was rather proud of her for that feat.

"Alice, remember our discussion of emotions getting the better of you?" Frank reminded Alice. "This would be one of those times." Turning to Dumbledore, he went on, "I'm sorry sir. Neville has not been sleeping well lately and we've had to stay up late and come to work early. Alice is still upset about Harry, of course. Now you think they should hide? But Arthur has to work. You can't hide and still go to work."

"Well, he would need to take time off," Dumbledore added.

"Professor, I can't take time off. Bill starts Hogwarts next year and it won't be long before the rest of them start as well." Arthur ducked his head and said rather ashamedly, "We can't afford for me to not be working with seven children to feed."

Dumbledore pondered this dilemma, trying to come up with a way that the Ministry would pay Arthur while in hiding. Unfortunately, everyone was coming forward asking for money from the Ministry now that the war was over. He hadn't mentioned his suspicions regarding the issue of Voldemort's death to anyone. He realized that there had been one thing bothering him about Bellatrix's going after young Ginevra.

"Andromeda, can you remember what Pythia Muldoon said at Madame Malkin's that day when you were there with your sisters and met Molly?" the professor asked.

"Of course Professor if by Ms. Muldoon, you mean the old woman that just about dropped dead at Molly's feet. She said 'A daughter shall be born unto you. She shall have the power to restore all that is lost…' But what does that have to do with anything?"

"It is as I feared. Bellatrix did not hear the full prophecy, which we would have been better off if she had. Unfortunately, the _Fidelius charm_ is the strongest charm available to us at the moment. But if someone has any other ideas, please feel free to share."

"I had an idea," Andromeda said softly at first with her voice getting stronger with each word. "I know Bella. There is one place that she would never think about looking for Ginny."

"Where is that?" Molly demanded to know.

"In the Muggle World," Andromeda said with a smirk.


	8. Fleshing Out the Plan

A/N: So here's most of the plan. I hope you like it. Thanks to all who have reviewed, favorited and alerted.

Chapter Seven--Fleshing Out the Plan

"The Muggle world?!" almost everyone in the room said together. The volume of so many voices caused Ginny to start crying. Molly picked up her daughter trying to prevent her from waking up Ron as well. While conjuring a small swing to place Ginny in, Molly just looked at Andromeda.

"Explain, please," Professor Dumbledore requested.

"It's simple really. I volunteer at a Muggle orphanage. I help the children with their school work. Some of the children go to school with Nymph. We could change your daughter's name so no one knows who she is and place her at the orphanage. I would be there in my volunteer capacity to watch over her," Andromeda detailed.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Arthur said, shaking his head. "We need to be with Ginny. Why can't we just hide in the Muggle world together?"

"Because you don't think enough like a Muggle. Both of you are purebloods. You couldn't survive without magic. The Statute of Secrecy would be blown for sure," Andromeda replied.

"Arthur," Dumbledore interjected, "Think about all the devices you come across in your job. Some of these are Muggles things that wizards and witches have bewitched because they can't deal with these objects without magic. Andromeda is right. You and Molly wouldn't be able to hide well in the Muggle World, just like I wouldn't." Dumbledore turned to Andromeda. "How do you plan to deal with Bellatrix? I mean, just because Ginny would be in the Muggle world doesn't mean that Bellatrix would not try to attack the Burrow again to find her."

"I forgot the most important detail as to why Ginny must go alone, didn't I? Bella wants to kidnap Ginny, obviously, so we 'kidnap' her first. We hide her in the orphanage under a new name that we set and then report her as missing. This way Bella won't try to come after the Weasleys. She will be trying to figure out who kidnapped Ginny first."

"Hmm…" Dumbledore thought for a few minutes before adding, "kidnap victim according to the Wizarding world, but helpless orphan in the Muggle. It has definite possibilities. Magical children can be sheltered and protected in the Muggle world. Arthur and Molly, I'm sure, could portray all the agony that goes with being the parents of a kidnap victim. I think the idea is a good one."

"You would," Alice spoke up. "It must be a horrible plan for Dumbledore to like it so much."

"Alice! You're out of line," Frank reprimanded his wife before pulling her aside to talk to her.

"What? It's true," she said looking at her husband with an unrepentant gaze.

"Still. Dumbledore, the most feared and powerful wizard of our time? Don't get us in trouble! He could get us fired, you know," Frank hissed at his wife.

"Please! He likes us more when we stand up for ourselves. The professor hates pandering. Ask him yourself. He doesn't get mad," Alice retorted, before leaving her husband to rejoin the conversation.

During the explanation of the plan and the conversation following it, Molly just held her daughter and thought. She wasn't sure she could give up her child for any amount of time, but she was scared that she wouldn't be able to protect her if Bellatrix came back. She decided to speak up.

"Andromeda, not that I don't trust you, but I don't think I can give up my little girl. Why can't I go with her?"

"Molly, how would we explain your disappearance? With Ginny, we can say she's been kidnapped and keep everyone else safe," Andromeda solemnly explained.

"Molly," Arthur intoned, "What would I do without you? What would the boys do without you? We need you just as much as our beautiful Ginny does. Remember it will only be as long as it takes to capture Bellatrix."

Just the mentioning of that name reminded Molly of her experience with the _Imperius Curse_. She kept thinking to herself that she couldn't protect her children. The memory of how helpless she felt when walking to hand her daughter over to that witch helped Molly make up her mind.

"All right. Let's do it," Molly said.

* * *

After fleshing out the rest of the plan, Albus Dumbledore left with Arthur Weasley and his boys to return to the Burrow. While Arthur left Dumbledore long enough to drop his sons off with the Diggorys, the professor went ahead and started recreating the wards that surrounded the Burrow.

Since he was alone, Dumbledore actually had an opportunity to seemingly relax. He stopped his wandwork to take a seat on a bench in the garden. The weight of the Wizarding World seemed to be sitting on his shoulders as he closed his eyes and rested his head against the tree behind the bench. The lines around his face, especially his eyes and mouth, seemed to deepen as he reviewed in his mind all that had occurred over the past month.

The Wizarding World was still in a state of chaos after Voldemort's defeat as the Ministry was left trying to sort out who were true followers of Voldemort and who were merely puppets. Unfortunately, there were lots of demands on Dumbledore's time, especially now in the midst of the chaos. Several important decisions had been made and he could only hope that they were the right ones.

Arthur returned quietly and spotted the older wizard, resting in the garden. Arthur had a thought that perhaps they were asking too much of the professor. After all, Dumbledore was one hundred years old. The Wizarding World just kept asking and demanding of its heroes. Arthur hesitated before clearing his throat. He hated to disturb the headmaster but the wards had to be fixed before Molly and the children could come home.

Dumbledore brandished his wand as he was startled by Arthur. Recognizing the wizard before him, the headmaster lowered his wand before letting out a small sigh.

"Old habits die hard. I never know if the next person I meet is a friend or foe. Isn't that a sad testament on what my life has become?" Dumbledore confessed.

"I know that at work I've been especially cautious as I've never known who to trust," Arthur sympathized.

"Right now we've work to do. Let's focus on the future so your children won't have to worry about who their true friends are."

With this, Dumbledore's wand began moving rapidly in a variety of directions. A multitude of colours radiated from both Dumbledore and Arthur's wands as Arthur joined in the creation of the wards.

After several minutes of working in silence, Arthur decided to just ask his question.

"Professor?"

"Arthur, how many times do I have to tell you it's Albus?" Dumbledore grumbled.

"Sorry, Professor. I can't help it," Arthur responded with a genuinely apologetic look on his face, which quickly turned into a look of contemplation. "Do you really think this plan will keep Ginny safe?"

The sky went back to being just a brilliant blue as the two men paused their work.

"Arthur, one thing that I have learned in my vast years of experience is that there is no way to predict how safe any plan can make a person. Our goal is to minimize the risks involved while maximizing our options. That's why I believe this is a better plan than using the _Fidelius Charm_. With this plan there are many layers of protection for your young Ginny whereas with the _Fidelius_, there is only the one layer. If that layer is uncovered, there is nothing left to protect you as the Potters found out," Dumbledore responded with a sorrowful expression, especially at the end.

"Well, something must have protected Harry. But okay," Arthur said, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "I was hoping that I wasn't just being foolish by agreeing to this plan like I did. I feel much better now about the plan. Thank you."

"Anytime, Arthur, anytime. I'm glad I could be of help. Now shall we finish what we've started?" Moving as if synchronized swimmers, the two wizards completed setting up the new wards.


	9. Following Through

A/N: I've written this chapter so many times now. It still isn't exactly what I want, but I am anxious to get through this so we can finally see Harry and Ginny growing up together. However, there is still a bit of backstory to get there.

Chapter Eight--Following Through

After Frank and Alice left to file their report and statements at the Ministry, Andromeda and Molly sat chatting amiably about their families. Andromeda noticed that as they talked, Molly kept her hands wrapped around one of Percy's and her eyes on baby Ginny, who was finally swaying in the swing that Molly had conjured.

"Molly, we need to come up with a name to hide Ginny."

"Why can't she keep the same name? I don't understand why we need to change her name. After all, I did choose her name," Molly said petulantly.

"Molly, it is just as a level of protection. By having a different name, no one will be able to figure out that she is the magical child that was kidnapped," Andromeda explained.

"Oh, all right," Molly gave in. Molly's eyes glazed over as she stared at her daughter. Suddenly, she spoke. "What if we did an anagram with her name? That way we would know it was her and it still spells out her name."

"Excellent idea, Molly," Andromeda responded. The two witches got out parchment and ink and went to work trying out different anagrams of Ginevra Molly Weasley.

"What about Rowena Gilly Veasey?" Andromeda suggested. Molly tried the name out on her tongue, but quickly shook her head.

"Rowena just doesn't fit her," Molly said. Quills scratched the parchment again. After a few minutes of more attempts, Molly asked Andromeda, "Aren't we using your house-elf Grolly for the plan?"

"Yes," Andromeda answered slowly, unsure of where her friend was going with this line of questioning.

"Well, then, how about Wilmena Grolly Veasey? Veasey sounds like Weasley. Grolly would be for the house-elf, obviously and they can call her Mena," Molly added with a wide smile on her face.

"Sounds good to me. If that's what you want, then that is what we will do." With that decided, the two witches continued a light conversation about their family.

* * *

At the Diggory's house, Bill was pacing in the middle of the room with Fred and George sitting on an armchair together, grinning devilishly and talking in hurried whispers.

"Well, we must do something. I mean, that woman is after our baby sister! Surely there must be something that we can do," Bill muttered, running his fingers through his very short hair. For a moment, he forgot his thoughts about his sister, wondering if his mother would ever let him grow his hair out at all.

"Bill, we're kids! We haven't even left for Hogwarts yet. What can we do?" Charlie, who was laid out on the couch, insisted to his older brother, who had yet to stop pacing.

"Charlie! Obviously we can do something. We stopped that witch from hurting Percy yesterday," Bill exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air at his brother.

"We only stopped her because of accidental magic. You know that. We don't have wands. Face it, we can't help this time," Charlie looked with a sorrowful expression to his older brother.

Bill's face exploded with a wide grin. "I've got it. We can form the Protect Our Little Sister Brotherhood for when we can help. That way, once we are able, we can protect Ginny. But we must all join and promise to never let anything bad happen to her."

"Sure, why not? But do you think that Fred and George would understand what we are doing if they agreed?" Charlie, being the easygoing, let's not cause waves brother, agreed to create POLS, but questioned whether any of the others would understand.

"Well, we can initiate them when they turn five." Bill immediately started to create a list of ways that they could protect Ginny once they had wands. Turning to go find Mrs. Diggory to ask for parchment and quill, Bill called out over his shoulder to his brother, "We can do this!"

* * *

Arthur had come to St. Mungo's after finishing the wards with Dumbledore. He and Andromeda helped Molly gather everything together to take home with Percy. Molly refused to let anyone else carry Ginny as she knew that time with her little girl was quickly slipping away from her. Andromeda departed for home, reminding them that Grolly, the house-elf, would come for Ginny in the morning and promising to check on Ginny tomorrow afternoon at the orphanage.

The Weasleys Flooed to the Burrow for one last night as a family until Bellatrix was caught. Arthur retrieved the boys from the Diggorys. With a very somber atmosphere in the house, Molly went about fixing tea for her family. Starting the pot to boil for beef stew, she carefully prepared her ingredients, knowing that it would be very easy to have an accident in the kitchen when one is not paying attention. She did not want a return visit to St. Mungo's.

After she got the food cooking, she walked to the door of the family room to view her family as they were gathered. Bill and Charlie were playing with Ron and Ginny on the floor by moving their legs up and down as the two little ones lay on their backs. Fred and George were stacking up toys as high as they could. Percy was playing wizard chess with Arthur. This was her family.

She took a quick glance at her clock in the corner and gasped. On the clock face were eight hands all pointing to home with the smallest one pointing to a new category that Molly had never seen: In Danger. _Ginny really is in danger_, Molly thought. As her thoughts whirled in her mind, the stove spouted a warning that the food was almost ready. Molly returned to the kitchen with her mind very preoccupied. Calling her family into the kitchen, Molly set the table and served the food. The mother had a melancholy feeling settle over her as she watched her family eat. She wondered when they would sit down for a meal like this again.

Trying to shake off the melancholy, she asked the boys about their day, which lead into a family discussion about the day's events. As the family was finishing up their meal, there came a knock at the door. Crossing to the door, Arthur opened it to find Professor Dumbledore there.

"Arthur, I thought I would stop by as I had a thought about the plan. I do hope that I'm not intruding," the old wizard remarked.

"Come in. Come in. Now what's this about a thought you had?" Arthur asked as the old wizard walked through the door making sure to wipe his feet off on the small mat.

"Children, why don't you go through to the family room and take your younger siblings with you? If you are good, I get you some dessert later," Molly bribed the children in order for the adults to have a conversation without the children present.

"Okay, Mum," Bill assented as he led the rest of his siblings into the family room.

Dumbledore waited for all the children to leave before continuing. "Well, I've been thinking about Ginny while she's in the orphanage. Has she displayed any accidental magic yet?"

"Yes, she has a couple of times. Why?" Molly answered with a wrinkled brow.

"The Ministry tracks children who do accidental magic in a Muggle setting. If we don't want them to find Ginny before Bellatrix is caught, then I will need to place a magical shield on her," Dumbledore explained.

"Is that safe?" Arthur questioned.

"Oh, yes. I recently put one on another very magical child that is in the Muggle world at the moment. It is perfectly safe and no one can track them by their magic," the wizard went on.

"Well, if you feel you must. I don't want Bellatrix having any kind of a shot at Ginny," Molly stated crossing her arms to hold her elbows. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe." Molly stood up and crossed to the family room. Watching her children playing for a moment, she then went to Ginny and took her back into the kitchen. The professor waved his wand from Ginny's head to her feet. A bright blue glow emanated from the wand surrounding Ginny in a bubble, which last about a minute before fading away.

"She's as protected as I can make her now," Dumbledore said.


	10. Separation

A/N: Thanks to all who have reviewed and alerted.

Chapter Nine--Separation

The following morning found Molly Weasley sitting in a rocker in Ginny's nursery watching her daughter sleep. Arthur stood in the doorway to the room, wondering how his wife was going to survive this separation. He knew that she hadn't come to bed at all last night, preferring to spend the night with Ginny. In truth, the wizard wasn't sure how he felt about this plan, but he was willing to try anything that could give his wife peace of mind. He startled when he heard his wife whisper to him.

"I'm going to miss her so much, you know?"

"I know, Mollywobbles. I will too, but it won't be for long. I'm sure that the Aurors will catch Bellatrix fairly quickly," Arthur reassured his wife quietly. He stepped into the room as Molly stood up. They stood in a silent close embrace for quite some time, watching their baby daughter sleep.

After many minutes, Molly broke out of her husband's embrace, wiping her eyes. It was then that Arthur realized that she had been silently crying. He felt like a heel for not realizing exactly how upset his wife was. "Molly…"

"I need to go get breakfast ready," Molly said in a quiet voice, nodding to her husband. Arthur realized that his wife was resigned to what they were going to do, but it still hurt her. Molly continued, "Grolly will be here soon. Oh, I need to write the note for the orphanage." With that, she walked out of the room.

Arthur bent over the cot that Ginny was lying in to take in her features once more. She really was a beautiful infant. Her wispy red baby hair, more her mother's colour than his, was growing longer each day and was about to her shoulders. Her long red lashes brushed her milky-white cheeks as her eyes moved rapidly behind her lids. He knew from his studies of all things Muggles that they had a theory about RIM or something, but he thought it was just that his little girl was trying to take everything in, even when asleep. Clasped in her tiny hands was a baby stuffed dragon as big as she was that her brother Charlie had saved up to buy her. Arthur figured that his boys would end up acting like dragons to protect their princess, but apparently Charlie wanted this one to act as a front guard for the brothers. Seeing his daughter look so angelic in sleep made him wonder why anyone would think that she could be helpful in bringing back someone so Dark. He sighed.

"Well, princess, I'm sorry to say that we just can't protect you here." Arthur rubbed Ginny's back as she lay on her side. His dark brown eyes looked haunted and filled with pain at the thought of not being able to protect his child. Arthur leaned down and dropped a kiss on Ginny's cheek. "I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to you or your brothers," he whispered. "I love you, princess." He stood upright quickly, afraid that the unshed tears in his eyes would fall if he remained leaning over. Taking a deep breath, he left the room to help his wife while Ginny slept on.

* * *

After breakfast, Grolly the house-elf appeared in the Weasley kitchen. Molly startled as moments ago she was the only one in the room. Arthur had taken the boys out to the garden for some play time, which allowed Molly time to try to prepare herself for what was to come.

Now she stood shocked in her kitchen. Even though Molly herself was not the tallest in the house by any means, she was amazed by how she still towered over the tiny elf. Some of Molly's relatives had been rich enough to have house-elves so she had seen them before, even if she had never had personal contact with one. This particular elf had huge brown eyes that seems to shine a light from deep inside a tunnel. Seeing the appearance of the elf brought a question about the plan to Molly's mind.

"Grolly, no offense or anything, but how are you going to get Ginny to the orphanage without violating the Statute of Secrecy?" Molly questioned with a puzzled look, taking in the dress of the house-elf. Grolly was attired in what looked to be an old tablecloth that had been refitted with the Black family crest on it.

"Don't worry," Grolly said in a high, squeaky voice that changed into a beautiful contralto as her appearance morphed. "House-elves have different magic than wizards. We can alter our appearance much like that of a Metamorphmagus except we can even change species." Grolly's appearance had first changed into that of a beautiful blonde-haired blue-eyed young woman, but rapidly changed to that of a female Goblin that was only slightly taller than Grolly's natural appearance. "However, we can't change our gender," the blonde woman said after Grolly changed her appearance back to the form that she would use to drop off Ginny.

"I never knew that house-elves could do that. Is that why we never saw them at Hogwarts?" Molly asked, looking as if she had possibly figured out something that she had long wondered about.

"No. At Hogwarts, the house-elves can perform our version of Apparition so you never got the opportunity to see them before they would Apparate out. Plus, we rarely use this magical skill since we are only allowed if our master or mistress permits it," Grolly explained.

"Permits it? Why wouldn't they permit it?" Molly continued.

"Because we must wear clothes when in human form. Most house-elves are scared that will mean that we are freed from our duties and our families. However, Miss Andi quite graciously informed me that even though I must wear clothes, I will not be let go from my services to the Blacks. That was quite a relief, let me tell you. My parents would have disowned me, like Master Cygnus did Miss Andi, if I had been freed."

Molly took a moment to let this knowledge about the elfin world sink in before continuing, "I've gathered some of Ginny's things for you to take to the orphanage. Here's the note to give to the matron." As an aside, she muttered, "At least I think that is what Andromeda called the person in charge." After handing Grolly the note, Molly started bustling about gathering Ginny's blanket and dragon as well as some clothes. Grolly thought she saw tears in the witch's eyes, but she wouldn't slow down enough for Grolly to really see.

"Well, I think that is everything. I…I guess I need to go get Ginny now," Molly battled with the tears that welled in her eyes. She heaved a huge breath and went to get her baby.

Gathering Ginny in her arms, Molly tucked Ginny's head into her neck and inhaled the sweet baby scent that was uniquely her daughter. Huge brown eyes met glistening blue ones as Ginny reached a tiny hand to pat her mum's cheek almost as if the little girl was trying to reassure her mother that everything would be alright. Molly felt a warm wave of calm spread over her. Molly then carried her daughter to Grolly and handed her over to the house-elf without a word. The mother knew that if she said anything that she would break down.

Seeing Molly nod at her, Grolly collected the items that Molly was sending with Ginny before taking the child from Molly's arms. Sensing that the mother needed them to make a quick departure, the elf-turned-woman snapped her fingers. In a flash, they were gone.

Molly ran up the stairs to her bedroom and threw herself across her bed, wailing. Tears streamed down her face as she wondered when she would see her darling daughter again. Knowing that this was the best way to keep her little girl safe didn't make it any easier for her to bear. She continued to weep into her pillow until the rest of her family came in. Once she heard her boys, she knew that she would have to get up and report her daughter as missing.

* * *

Grolly Apparated to a grove of trees in the park that bordered the orphanage. Holding the baby close to her, she conjured a basket to place the girl in with her belongings and placed the note on top. Sneaking up to the door, the elf carefully placed the basket in front of it and rang the doorbell before Apparating a short distance away. The elf made sure that the door was answered and the child was let in before returning to her home.

* * *

The evening edition of the Daily Prophet had just been delivered to Black Hall when Grolly was serving her mistress the soup course of her evening meal. After paying the owl, Grolly placed the paper beside Bellatrix's plate. Bellatrix glanced at the headline as she lifted her soup spoon to her mouth. Soup came spluttering out of her mouth as she dropped her spoon to devour the article that detailed the kidnapping of one Ginevra Molly Weasley. Her mind raced as she sought to find answers to this new riddle.

"Who on Earth would want to kidnap that child? Other than me, I mean," Bella muttered to herself. Continuing to read the story, which told of how the child was in the kitchen one minute with her mother and the next had disappeared, Bella worried that she would never be able to find her Lord now.

"Who took the girl from the Burrow?" she asked, rather exasperatedly.

"I did," Grolly squeaked, hands over her mouth.


	11. The Best Laid Plans

Chapter Ten--The Best Laid Plans

Grolly looked horrified by what had just come out of her mouth. She shook her head. Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at her house-elf.

"Who told you to kidnap the child?" Bellatrix hissed at Grolly.

"No one," Grolly squeaked. Her eyes were wide with fear.

"Where is the child now?" Bella demanded to know.

"I don't know." Grolly shook her head vehemently with her face displaying a look of sheer terror.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Bella took out her wand and caressed it slowly.

"Um… umm…" Grolly's eyes got wider and wider watching the witch fondle her wand.

"Speak or else I shall make you feel pain like you have never felt before," Bella ground out, now tapping her wand against her palm.

"I don't know where she is right now. She could be anywhere by now, but I know where I left her."

"And where, pray tell, is that?" Bella's eyes sparkled with a hint of madness.

"The orphanage where Miss Andi volunteers," Grolly offered slowly as if she didn't want to tell, but was forced to.

Bellatrix startled at the sound of her sister's name. She pondered if her sister could have something to do with this. Thinking back of the events since the disappearance of the Dark Lord, the witch recalled a conversation with Barty Crouch Jr. that was unusual. During their conversation, he had acted like he had already shared some of the information with her, when she hadn't been around. Now that she thought about it, she noticed that some of the Black heirlooms were missing. Maybe her dear Muggle-loving sister had intercepted a call and formulated a plan of her own.

"Andromeda. Andromeda," the witch mocked. "Whatever shall I do with you?" She pursed her lips in thought before demanding of the house-elf to take her to the orphanage. When Grolly didn't move fast enough for the witch, Bella yanked the elf's arm and pointed her wand at the elf's throat. Grolly quickly snapped her fingers to Apparate them to the site. For a moment, the witch and the elf disappeared from the room, only to come back slamming down onto the floor. Bella let out a scream of frustration.

"Why can't you take me there?" Bella shrieked.

"I…I don't know," Grolly said her eyes wide. Bella simply pointed her wand and exclaimed "_Crucio_." After several moments, she asked the house-elf again, only to get the same response. Bella repeated this process several times before letting out another scream of frustration.

"Oh, my sister wants to play, does she?" Bella exclaimed with a harsh laugh. "Well, let the games begin." With this, the hint of madness in her eyes got a little more pronounced as she began to make her plans.

* * *

Completely unaware of her sister's intentions, Andromeda made her way to the orphanage for her volunteer time as well as to check on baby "Mena" with a spring in her step. She was sure that she had finally managed to stymie one of her sister's plans without her sister being any the wiser. Using her sister's house-elf was just icing on the cake. The witch was certain that Bella didn't pay attention to activities of her house-elves. _Good thing that Grolly still considers me a Black so she must_ _obey me_, Andi thought. Andi mentally reviewed the spell that she had created to place on Grolly so that once the house-elf left the orphanage, she would not be able to find the location again.

Turning the corner, Andromeda swung open the gate and rang the bell. One of the workers came to the door to usher Andi inside. After exchanging the pleasantries, she headed to the lounge area where the children she worked with would be waiting.

After an hour spent working with two young children on their letter recognition, Andromeda left the room to look for the matron of the orphanage. Arriving at her office, the witch noticed that Mrs. Sowerby was working on some paperwork.

"Mary, how are you today?" Andromeda asked as a greeting to her friend.

"Oh, Andi. I'm well, but a bit stressed at the moment as we had some excitement here this morning," Mary replied with a slightly frazzled look. She ran her fingers through her hair before continuing, "There was a baby abandoned on our doorstep. This orphanage is not really equipped to handle an infant."

"But…what would you do with the baby if you didn't keep it here?" Andi was terrified at the thought that baby Ginny would not be kept at the orphanage. She hadn't even considered that the orphanage might not be equipped for an infant.

"Well, she would be given to a foster family most likely. Right now though I have some charges who are willing to help take care of her. We'll have to see what happens," Mary just shrugged her shoulders at this.

Andi's mind raced as she tried to think of a way to prolong the conversation to find out more information. Coming up with nothing, she took a look at her watch and realized it was time to pick up Nymph from school.

"Well, I hope everything works out. I'll let you get back to your work as I've got to go pick up Nymph," Andromeda said as a parting remark.

Lost in her world thinking about the ramifications of what she had learned, Andromeda failed to notice the shadow that had fallen behind her as she neared the school. Nymph, who could see how distracted her mother was, simply led the way home in silence.

* * *

The next morning, Mrs. Sowerby lowered her head to her desk trying to rest somewhat as Mena had kept her up all night. Thinking back over the events of the night, Mary knew that she would not be able to keep the child here, even though the note that came with the child mentioned that her parents hoped to reclaim her in the future. A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts and caused her to close her eyes as if to gather her strength before lifting her head and calling out "Enter."

A familiar young man stepped into the room, carrying a briefcase. Joe, a social worker, had come to call looking for a child for a couple to adopt. After considering it, Mrs. Sowerby thought that perhaps the couple might like to meet Mena, the baby that had arrived yesterday. She mentioned to Frank that Mena's birth certificate hadn't been found, but discovered that wouldn't be a problem. They made arrangements for the young couple to come visit later that day with the intention of taking Mena home with them the following morning if everyone agreed it was a good match.

* * *

The young couple picked up their new daughter Mena at the orphanage the following morning. The new mother cooed over her little girl.

"Oh, Jim. Isn't she just divine? She even has your red hair. This is going to be so wonderful," Trixie Frayne was bubbling over with excitement. "We have to call Honey when we get back to our flat." She bit her lower lip. "You don't think that they'll be upset with us, do you?"

"Who- Brian and Honey? Nah. They'll be happy for us, even though we aren't back in New York with them. You realize this means we have to stay here for at least a year or so, right?" Jim, her husband added.

"Yes. But isn't she worth it?" Trixie's bright blue eyes sparkled with excitement as much as they did when she and Jim were growing up and she had found a mystery to solve.

"Absolutely. Now let's get her home."

* * *

That afternoon, Andromeda made her way to the orphanage for her next volunteer time. She was once again oblivious to the person who was following her every move and in fact had been since she picked Nymph up from school two days prior. As soon as she made to turn into the walk leading to the orphanage, Andi was hit with a spell that made her stop where she was standing. Turning around, she saw her sister standing there with her wand outstretched in her hand beckoning for her sister to come forward.

Smirking, Andromeda simply said, "No."

Incensed by the fact that her sister could throw off the Imperius curse so easily, Bella let out a stream of curses. Andromeda got hit in the right shoulder with a Blasting Curse causing her arm to dangle to her side. That was followed up with a Severing Charm aimed at her sister's torso. Andromeda felt the blood start to slowly drip out of the cut that ran from the lower side of one set of ribs to the other. Ever so slowly she dropped to the ground. Before she hit the ground, she saw her sister cast one final spell.

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed and added me to their alerts. I must say that when I looked at the stats and saw how many countries that were represented by people who have read, I was shocked. But it is so cool to see that people all around the world are reading my story- so to all who have dropped by to read-- Thanks!

Also, to those who wondered about Andromeda using Grolly, I hope this chapter helped explain some. Dumbledore will help explain some as well soon, I think.


	12. Things Go Awry

A/N: I noted that several reviewers mentioned about Ginny/Mena being adopted. According to the research that I have done about British adoptions, it takes ten weeks after the placement in the home before the adoption process really starts. This is so they can find out about the history of the child and make sure the placement is a good match. Ginny will NOT be leaving England, even though Jim and Trixie are Americans. They are just living in England for work. Kudos to anyone who know where the characters of Jim and Trixie came from. And I keep forgetting to add this next part

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Every one of them is owned by someone else. None of this is for profit, just entertainment pruposes and reviews!

Chapter Eleven--Things Go Awry

After watching her sister fall, Bellatrix calmly and coldly stepped over her limp body to walk up to the orphanage. Thinking about how someone might see the body, she cast an _Obscurus Charm_, much like the charm that exists on the Leaky Cauldron in London. Bella cast a small glamour charm on herself to make her appear more like her sister before ringing the bell.

"Oh, Mrs. Tonks, you are here. We were starting to worry about you," the worker who opened the door said.

"Well, I'm here now. Where is the headmistress by the way?" Bella asked, trying her hardest to act like her sister.

The worker gave her a strange look at these words before answering, "In the matron's office, of course."

"And help me out, where exactly is her office again?" Bella asked.

"Mrs. Tonks, are you feeling okay? I mean, you know where her office is – up a floor on the right," the worker responded.

Glancing around, Bella saw no one in the immediate area and cast a quick "_Stupefy_". The worker dropped to the floor and Bella cast a _Banishing Charm_ to send his body flying into a nearby broom closet. Sauntering up the stairs as if she owned then, the witch went to find the matron.

Not wanting to give her any warning, Bellatrix burst into the room with wand drawn. Pointing it at the scared woman behind the desk, she commanded the room.

"Where is Ginevra Weasley?" Bella demanded.

"Who?" Mrs. Sowerby asked with a puzzled look on her face.

"Ginevra Weasley," Bella said very slowly drawing out each syllable.

"Never heard of her," Mary replied in a terrified voice.

Bella refused to believe that the child had not been brought here, so she simply cast "_Crucio_." Mary Sowerby fell to the floor, doubled over in pain. After a few minutes, she was released from the curse.

Mary cried, calling for "Dickon."

"Where is Ginevra Weasley?" Bella asked again.

Mary looked at the cruel woman, whose glamour charm had slipped while casting the _Cruciatus_, and spat at her.

"I've already told you. I don't know any Weasleys," Mary glared at the woman standing over her.

" Apparently you aren't ready to talk yet," Bella said, casting the _Curse_ again. This time she held it longer than she ever had before. When Bella released Mary, she tried to question her again.

Mary only responded with, "Dickon. Dickon," while crying, curled up in a small ball on the floor.

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks was worried as evidenced by the fact that her hair had cycled to an almost gray colour. Her mum had not shown up to walk her home from school. Thinking over her options and deciding that none of them were really good, she chose to go to the orphanage where her mum volunteered. _Maybe she just got caught up working with the students,_ Nymph thought.

Walking down the block towards the building, Nymphadora's eyes were drawn by a quiet and shabbily dressed man. He carried himself like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. For some reason, she wanted to go and comfort this stranger. Her thoughts were interrupted when she tripped and fell head first onto the sidewalk. Collecting herself, she looked at what she had stumbled on and gasped, "Mum?!"

* * *

Four Aurors dressed in bright red robes appeared in the matron's office with the crack that comes from Apparition. Bella, hearing the sound, stunned one before the other three could even fire a spell. Seeing their comrade fall, the others quickly cast a variety of spells. Soon Bella was unarmed, tied up, stunned and ready for transport.

Alice Longbottom made her way to her fallen colleague and cast a quick _Ennervate_. The fallen Auror shook his head as if to clear away the cobwebs. After divvying up the remaining tasks, Frank and Alice remained behind to investigate the crime scene while their peers took Bellatrix back to the Ministry.

"Frank, why would Bellatrix Lestrange be here of all places? I mean, this looks like an office of some sorts," Alice pondered. It was then that she spotted a body on the floor behind the desk. Moving to the body, she discovered a relatively young woman curled in a ball, calling out something that Alice could not make out. Alice ran some simple first aid diagnostic spells over the woman, but could not find anything wrong with her.

Meanwhile, Frank looked around the room, taking in the décor. He saw lots of Muggle pictures of children. Moving to the desk, he saw the letterhead on a piece of stationery.

"Alice!" Frank exclaimed, with wide eyes. "Look. This is an orphanage. Could this be where Andromeda Tonks hid baby Ginny?"

"It's possible," Alice said thoughtfully. "But how did Bellatrix find the orphanage? Frank, I think we need to take this woman to St. Mungo's."

"I don't know how Bellatrix could have found it but we need to look around." When Alice's last comment about St. Mungo's sunk in, Frank turned around to see Alice trying to help the woman sit up with very little success. "Alice, she's a Muggle. How can we take her to St. Mungo's?"

"Do you really want to try to explain this to the people in a Muggle hospital? I mean, we know that Bellatrix was using Unforgivable curses as that is how we were able to locate her in a Muggle place." Alice looked at the woman again with a swell of pity rising in her chest. "Frank, what if… that witch placed the _Cruciatus_ on her? How would that affect a Muggle who can't even attempt to shield themselves?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," Frank said taking in the tears that welled in the corners of Alice's eyes. "But you're right. Someone needs to take her to St. Mungo's. Why don't I take her and you stay to investigate as it is more likely that a woman would be around here than a man, I would imagine?"

After Frank used the emergency Portkey that all Aurors carry to whisk the woman and himself to the hospital, Alice then peeked out of the office to see if anyone was around. Taking into account what the woman was wearing, Alice Transfigured her clothes to look similar. She then carefully proceeded to look around the building, trying not to bring any undue attention to herself. Keeping her wand in her sleeve, she performed some tests to discover magical residue only in the office where they arrived and in the atrium. Cautiously looking around the main foyer, she could not find evidence of magic other than the residue.

After viewing the main areas and seeing no other signs of magic, Alice headed outside to view the surrounding area. When she opened the front door, she saw a sight that she knew didn't belong in the Muggle World. There on the ground in front of her was a young girl whose hair was cycling through colours so fast that it wasn't one colour for more than a minute before it changed again. The girl was leaning over a woman who was lying limply on the ground. Alice hurried over to help out the young girl.

"Oh please, can you help my mum?" Nymph begged the woman coming out of the building.

"Who are you?" Alice asked very gently. She needed to determine whether the child knew about magic before taking out her own wand to help this woman.

"My name is Nymphadora Tonks. This is Andromeda Tonks. Please, can't you help her?" Nymph pleaded hysterically with the Auror.

"Nymphadora, my name is Alice Longbottom. I met your mother just recently at St. Mungo's. Can you keep a lookout for me while I use my wand? Just let me know if you see anyone so I can hide it. Okay?" Alice wanted to make sure to calm the young girl down so maybe then she wouldn't have so many people to _Obliviate_. Immediately the girl's hair colour settled on black as she stood up and kept guard.

Alice swept her wand over Andromeda's body starting with her head. Discovering that the right shoulder had been crushed, she conjured a sling to help hold her arm in place for the journey to St. Mungo's. Continuing to scan the rest of the body, Alice felt a sense of alarm when a cut across the witch's body was found to be dripping blood. With her mind racing, Alice tried to remember the first aid that was taught to all Aurors. She conjured some rags and placed them over the cut trying to seal off the wound. Alice called for the young girl to join her as she prepared Andromeda to be taken to St. Mungo's. With a pull behind their navel, they were whisked to the Emergency Room of St. Mungo's.

Once there, Alice was more than happy to let the Healers do their job. She talked to the young girl about her mum and what had occurred. Nymphadora could not tell her anything more than her mom was late so she walked to the orphanage since that was where her mom volunteered. Arriving there, she had tripped over her own mother's body. Then Alice had found her.

After several minutes, the healers came out to speak to Alice and Andromeda's daughter. The healer said that they could visit, but they warned to not upset her and mentioned that they would be contacting Mr. Tonks. Alice wanted to kick herself for not contacting him before, but Nymphadora was tugging on her hand pulling her into Andromeda's room.

"Hi, Mum," Nymph said rather bashfully.

Andromeda gave her a puzzled look before saying, "Who are you? I don't have a daughter, do I?"

A/N 2: I know another cliffie… Oh well, what can I say? Hope you enjoyed. Oh and a HUGE THANK YOU to Phil Boswell who pointed out that two of my chapters were the same. Apparently I had overwritten one of them. It should be fixed now.


	13. The End of An Era

Chapter Twelve--The End of An Era

Joe knocked on the door to Mary Sowerby's office at the orphanage. Hearing no response, he peeked his head around the door. The social worker shook his head as he went to the desk. On top of the planning calendar in the middle of the desktop were the papers that he needed to pick up from Mary. Flipping through them, he saw that everything was in order. Joe muttered to himself, "Let's go start the process to change Wilmena Veasey to Mena Frayne." The light brown haired man started whistling as he made his way out of the orphanage and to the courthouse.

* * *

Alice looked at Nymphadora and, recognizing the imminent breakdown by the young girl at the announcement that her own mother did not know her, jumped into the conversation.

"Mrs. Tonks… Andromeda, in case you don't remember me, I'm Alice Longbottom. I'm an Auror. This is your daughter, Nymphadora and apparently you were just attacked. Can you tell me what you remember?"

The woman thought carefully. "I know that my name is Andromeda Black. I'm in Slytherin at Hogwarts. Ow…"

"What? What is it?" Alice wanted to know.

"It's just…when I try to think past fifth year, my head really starts to hurt," Andromeda explained.

"Let's get a Healer in here to look at you," Alice added.

Alice pulled Nymphadora behind her to the nearest station to ask for a Healer for Andromeda. After the Healer went to check Andromeda out, Alice turned to Nymphadora and knelt in front of her, making Alice look up just a little at the girl.

"I know that this must really be scary for you. I can't imagine my mother not being able to recognize me. You need to understand that your mother was probably hit with an _Obliviate_ spell. I think the Healers will be able to reverse it. Don't worry," Alice told the girl.

"Who… Who do you think did this to my mum?" the girl said as her hair flashed from blue to pink to dark red.

"My guess is that it was your aunt, but you don't need to worry because we've caught her," the Auror replied.

"Aunt Bella or Aunt Cissy?"

"Your aunt Bella."

Nymphadora worried her bottom lip. "But why? I mean, I've never even met her. Why would she want to have anything to do with Mum now? I mean, I know that she attacked Mum, but why now?"

"You have good questions. We'll try to get them answered for you and your Mum," Alice responded.

Just then a very harried looking wizard came running up to the young girl and swept her into his arms. "Dora, Dora… Are you okay?" Ted Tonks took a step back and looked at his daughter very critically.

"Dad, I'm fine. It's Mum," Dora's eyes welled up with tears that she had been very good about holding back. "She doesn't remember us." As the Metamorphmagus broke down in tears, her father gathered into his lap and found a chair for the two of them. Recognizing the need for family time, Alice left to find her husband who had brought the woman from the orphanage.

* * *

After half an hour of searching, Alice finally found her wizard. Frank was sitting in a waiting room filling out lots of paperwork. Hearing footsteps, Frank looked up and saw his wife headed his way. After greeting her, he caught her up on what had been found. The woman that he had brought in was named Mary Sowerby. She was the matron of the orphanage where the incident occurred. Then Frank delivered the bad news: Mary Sowerby was catatonic and the Healers didn't know how to bring her out. Apparently Bellatrix tortured her with the Cruciatus Curse.

"Frank, have they found baby Ginny?" Alice asked.

Frank had a pained look on his face as he answered, "No."

Alice gasped and placed her hand over her mouth. Thinking for a few moments, she piped up. "Surely there would be paperwork that would tell us where…?" she trailed off.

"If we knew the name that Ginny was placed there under, then maybe. I know that the secretary said that Mrs. Sowerby had to keep all the paperwork locked up due to some privacy issues or something."

"Well, Molly must know what name Ginny was placed under. Send someone to the Burrow to find out," Alice demanded.

"You don't think that could be detrimental? I mean, won't Molly get upset?" Frank said thoughtfully.

"I guarantee you that Molly would rather us ask now and find her daughter than ask later when her daughter is long gone," Alice replied.

"Okay, I'll trust you as you're the mum."

* * *

After finding out the name that Ginny was hiding under, Frank and Alice returned to the orphanage to find out what had happened to the infant. Alice sorted through the paperwork on the desk while Frank searched the file cabinets.

"Nothing," Frank said.

"Nothing here either. How can that be? Where could the baby have gone?" Alice cried.

"I don't know, but we won't stop looking," Frank replied.

Hours later, the two discouraged Aurors trudged down a narrow lane leading away from Ottery St. Catchpole towards a magical house. Frank knocked on the door. Having heard the news about the capture of Bellatrix, Molly rushed to the door, expecting to see her darling girl. Upon opening the door and viewing the faces of the two Aurors, Molly felt the world rush up to meet her as she fell into despair. A strangled wail burst from her as the two strong arms of her husband supported her weight.

* * *

That day marked the end of an era for the Wizarding World as the remaining vocal supporters of Voldemort had been captured and sentenced to Azkaban and two children of prophecies had vanished like magic from the Wizarding World. Frank and Alice Longbottom, who should have been celebrating their capture of Voldemort's most loyal supporter, instead spent copious amounts of time with Neville, their son while following up every possible lead as to the whereabouts of Ginny Weasley. For the Weasleys, it was the day their hope to see their daughter again started to fail as the hand on the clock that represented Ginny Weasley had spun to a new category: Lost.

A/N: There is good news and bad news. Which do you want first? Okay- bad news- I start back to work on Tuesday so I won't have as much time to write as I have this summer. I am hoping to update at least once a week. Good news- The moment lots of you I'm sure has been waiting for--Mr. Potter finally makes his debut in the next chapter. I'm not saying that Harry and Ginny meet next chapter, but Harry is definitely in the next chapter... Oh, a BIG THANK YOU to all who review! You truly make a writer's day, even if it is full of questions!


	14. Gifts

A/N: Okay, so I said that this would take longer, but work was extremely easy today so I got more accomplished tonight than I anticipated. I will say that trying to find a Children's TV programme that was on Wednesdays in 1985 is very time-consuming, but I did it. Thanks to all who have reviewed! I appreciate any and all comments! The Neville/parents interaction is for jlyric! Thanks for getting me to think about another facet to this story.

Chapter Thirteen-- Gifts

July 30, 1985--Longbottom Manor

Neville Longbottom was now proud to be five years old. He just wished that he knew that his parents were proud of him as well. It seemed that they were constantly at work now. Neville scrunched up his forehead in concentration trying to figure out what his parents would be working on that was so important. His concentration was broken by the arrival of those in his thoughts.

Alice Longbottom bounded into the room and swung her son up into her arms. Frank, who came in the room more sedately, was astounded by the fact that his wife could pick up their son still. Not that Neville was large, but simply Alice didn't look like she could lift a Quaffle, much less a five year old boy.

"Nevvy, my darling son, happy birthday! How does it feel to be five?" Alice greeted her son with a wide smile wihle setting him back on his feet.

"It's great, Mum," Neville responded rather more sedately than Alice would have liked to see. "So are we doing anything special?"

"Of course we are, Neville!" his dad responded. "After all, it's not every day that your son turns five. We thought you would like to have a special dinner."

"Oh, is anyone coming over?" Neville asked brightening.

"Well," Alice started before biting her lower lip. "We wanted to keep it strictly family, you know." She had a very downcast look on her face as if she was ashamed at not planning a better birthday.

"Mum! You're lying to me. How could you?" Neville sprung at his mother and hugged her.

"How…" Alice sputtered and gave her husband an astonished look. "Neville, how did you know I was lying? I thought I was very convincing."

"You had me fooled, dear," Frank added, giving Neville a puzzled look.

Neville stopped to think for a minute. "I don't know. It was almost like a voice in my head saying 'She's lying to you.' I don't know how else to explain it." Remembering that people were coming over, he turned to his mum. "So who's coming?" he asked eagerly.

"Are you sure that you don't know already?" Alice joked. Seeing the clouded look that was starting to overtake her son's face, she relented. "Well, let's see. There's Susan Bones. She's your age and her aunt works with us. Ernie MacMillan is also coming. Hannah Abbott will be here with Michael Corner. Oh, Nymphadora wanted to come as well so I figured that would be okay, right?"

"Nymph is coming? Awesome. Maybe she will show us some things she learned this past year at Hogwarts," Neville exclaimed, clapping.

"Now Neville, she can't do magic outside of school until she's of age. You wouldn't want her to get in trouble, would you?" Frank rebuked his son.

"I guess not," Neville said discouraged. But then he brightened, "She still can morph right?"

"Yes, Neville," Alice said with a laugh.

"Excellent."

Later that night-- Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey

Five year old Harry Potter woke up to the sounds of muffled steps on the stairs above his cupboard. Yawning, he started to roll back over to go to back to sleep when he heard another set of footsteps descend the stairs. Curious, the young boy knew that it definitely wasn't morning as his aunt would have been yelling for him to get up and cook breakfast. _So what was going on?_, Harry thought. Quietly pushing open the door to his cupboard, he let out a small sigh of relief that his uncle had not locked his door on him. Harry continued to creep over to the kitchen as a small ray of light was radiating from under the door.

"Petunia, are you sure that you are all right? You don't look at all well," Uncle Vernon's normally booming voice was instead soft and barely carried out to where Harry was standing.

"I'm just having some pain. That's all. It will be fine. Go back to bed," Petunia soothed her husband. Harry scrambled to get back into his cupboard as he heard his Uncle Vernon laboring to get to his feet. With seconds to spare, Harry closed the cupboard door and waited for his uncle to return to his room upstairs before silently sneaking out again. He heard the sound of weeping coming from the kitchen. Knowing that it was his Aunt Petunia, Harry briefly thought about the fact that he had never heard his aunt cry before. He laughed inwardly as he recalled the fact that she wouldn't let him cry either. Harry had learned at a very early age that crying got you absolutely nowhere with Aunt Petunia. Still, he wondered what would make his aunt cry. The young boy wanted to go comfort his aunt, like he had always wanted her to comfort him, but he knew that his sympathy would be unwelcome. He returned to his cupboard and laid down, not realizing that the weeping in the kitchen had lessened tremendously before he fell back asleep.

July 31, 1985

Mena Frayne, a precocious almost four-year-old, danced around the living room of the Frayne's flat. The television was tuned to _Button Moon_ with its catchy theme song. Trixie, a sandy blonde looked over at her foster daughter and laughed as the redheaded girl spun around with a spoon in her hand.

Jim Frayne came through the door to the flat with a forlorn expression on his face and turned towards their bedroom. Seeing the expression on her husband's face, Trixie immediately jumped up and hurried after him.

"Jim, what is it? It's not Brian or Honey is it?" Trixie asked, worried that something had happened to her brother and sister-in-law.

"No, Trix. It's not about them. I…I had a phone call from our solicitor while at work," Jim responded slowly as if unwilling to share this information with his wife.

"Solicitor? What's a solicitor? Oh, right. A lawyer! Well, what did he want to talk about?" Trixie was at a loss to figure out what was going on.

"It seems that our paperwork in adopting Mena is meeting some resistance," the man told his wife very reluctantly.

"Resistance? What kind of resistance?" she parroted back to him again.

"Apparently, because we're Americans, the court system is refusing to let our adoption application go any further, especially since they can find no legal birth certificate for her. While we are still her foster family for as long as we remain in Britain," Jim turned his wedding band around on his finger. "We can't officially claim her as a Frayne."

Trixie looked at her husband, who was trying his best to appear stoic, but she knew that he was very disappointed. Jim was the one who wanted to adopt a child as he himself had been adopted. As they were in England for several years to deal with Jim's business, the couple had decided to look into adopting a child. Nothing had pleased Jim more than to find a child that needed someone. Trixie was happy that the girl had red hair like her husband. The joy that had filled their life since Mena came into it was like no other. Trixie often recalled all the times she had had to baby sit her brother and decided that dealing with your own child was infinitely better than babysitting. Fury welled inside her at the fact that because they were different nationalities, she might be denied her daughter.

"What good is all of our money if we can't use it to get us our daughter?" Trixie yelled in frustration.

Hearing her mother yell, Mena ran into the room. Looking at her parents, she went to her father, took his hand and led him to her mother. Drawing them both into a three-way hug, she patted both of their backs- one with either hand. At the touch of their daughter, both Jim and Trixie felt all of their negative emotion melt away.

"We can't lose you, pumpkin," Jim whispered to his little girl.

"We won't lose her, Jim," Trixie said with an air of calm resolution.


	15. Making Arrangements

Chapter Six--The Plan

A/N: Sorry about the delay in the update, but I have been working on posting to SIYE. Plus, I went back and reworked Chapter 4 the Attack after a review gave me ideas to make it better. School also started back so I am going to try to post an update at least once a week, but hopefully you will forgive me if I am a little late sometimes. Thanks to all who have reviewed and alerted!

9/13- Added the opening scene as Mel asked for it.

Chapter Fourteen--Making Arrangements

August 11, 1985--The Burrow

Molly Weasley rolled over again trying to get back to sleep in the bed she shared with her husband. After several minutes of listening to her husband's slow steady breaths, she decided that sleep wasn't coming. She slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake her husband. After taking care of her morning routine, she headed down the stairs to the kitchen.

Molly knew what was not allowing her to sleep. Her thoughts were full of what today was supposed to be like. She should be preparing a castle birthday cake with a knight fighting a dragon to rescue the princess. Presents should be gotten out of the secret hiding place. Most importantly, a little bedroom just up the stairs should have a precious red-haired girl sleeping, dreaming and waiting for the day's celebration to start.

But that's not how the day would go. Instead she would go about her regular routine - making breakfast for her boys, setting chores, doing laundry, changing linens, going over lessons, cleaning up scrapes. Male voices would permeate the house. Hers would be the only female voice since her daughter was gone. Gone…She went to the doorway of the sitting room so she could view the clock. The smallest hand was still firmly on Lost. Her heart wrenched at the sight of that clock. Once the clock was a blessing; now it was a curse. It served as a constant reminder that her daughter was gone. Most days she turned the clock so that it faced the wall.

Glancing at the clock that told the time, she started bustling around the kitchen getting things ready for breakfast. A thought rose unbidden in her mind that she didn't know what her daughter's favorite breakfast was. She could rattle off the favorite meal of each of her boys, but she had no knowledge of her daughter. Tears shined in her eyes as she continued to ready the meal for Arthur. Gripping the counter for a moment, she drew a huge breath and forced her thoughts of Ginny behind a door in her mind. That door was the only thing keeping her from sliding into the darkest depression. After Ginny's disappearance, Molly had broken down and visited a mind healer. She knew that she had to be strong for the rest of the family, but the guilt that she had agreed to, even wanted, this plan- the plan that had taken her daughter away- threatened to consume her. There had been days when she couldn't even force herself out of bed, which was how she knew that something had to be done. The mind healer had helped her focus on what she had rather than what she didn't. Every so often thoughts about Ginny would seep through and eventually she would have to stuff them behind the door that the mind healer had worked so hard to help her build. The only reminder she allowed herself was the never-ending candle that was burning bright in the kitchen window.

Hearing a noise behind her, she turned to see her husband looking older than he should. They were only thirty-five, but easily looked like they were in their forties. With a jolt, she wondered just when they had gotten old. Arthur's hair was grey around the temples and looked as though it might be thinning. She knew that the last four years had been just as trying for him as it was for her. In his eyes, Molly could see that he too was contemplating the "might-have-beens". She tore her eyes away, glancing briefly at the candle, to continue preparing breakfast. Soon the smell of sausages permeated the tense, memory-filled atmosphere.

A London Solicitor's Office

Jim Frayne lifted the pen from the paper after he finished his signature in his distinctive scrawl. He handed the pen to his wife before looking at his solicitor.

"So you are sure that nothing and no one can take this money away from Mena? This paperwork allows no room for anyone to take the money?" Jim asked, tilting his head to look at his solicitor. His eyes searched the solicitor, wanting to be certain that everything was as he wanted it.

"Regardless of whether the adoption goes through, Mena will retain the Frayne name and have a sum of money in trust. Starting at the age of eleven, Mena will be able to use a percentage of the trust's interest for school purposes. Once she turns eighteen, she will have access to a larger percentage. She will get full access to the trust at the age of twenty-one. I feel that I must ask—are you sure that you want to leave this large a sum of money to someone who is not related to you?" his solicitor asked.

Jim closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself before looking at the solicitor to answer. "Yes, I do. You don't know my own story and how I was a runaway at the age of fifteen. The only reasons I really survived were two stubborn girls," with this, he gave his wife a loving glance, "and my trust fund, which I found out about almost too late. I absolutely want to give Mena this amount. She will never have to worry about money, especially since I don't know if she would have two stubborn girls or boys for that matter looking for her like I had." Trixie placed the pen that she had been twirled through her fingers down before grabbing his hand. Jim turned to grin at her for the silent show of support that she had just shown him. "Mena will never have to worry about doing odd jobs to get money for food to eat." Trixie beamed a huge smile at him.

Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey

Harry Potter leaned his head through the doorway to the living room. His aunt was lying on the couch, napping. This scene was often the sight seen in the house now, but Harry didn't remember it ever happening before this past month. His face crinkled in concentration as he tried to figure out what was causing his aunt to act this way. It wasn't just the naps, but there were other things. For instance, her clothes now looked like his in that they were huge on her like his were on his small frame. At meals, she mainly moved her food from one side of the plate to the other before Dudley just finished it off. Most curious were the nights where she sat at the table in the kitchen leaning forward hunched over.

Deciding that even if he could figure out what was going on he wouldn't be able to do anything about it, Harry very quietly tiptoed through the hall to the front door. For once, he didn't have chores to do. He was determined to go to the nearby park and swing. The swings were the best part of the park to Harry. He loved the feel of the wind in his face as he swung higher and higher. For a second he stopped and closed his eyes imagining the feeling he got when he was on the swings. This just made his enthusiasm bloom even more within him. His bright green eyes glowed in anticipation when he opened them.

Half-running, half- walking, he finally made his way to the park. It was mostly deserted. There were two other kids were playing on the roundabout, which suited him fine. He shuffled his way over to the swings and chose the one farthest from everyone. Harry had never felt comfortable around other kids since the only experience he really had was with his cousin. He had been forced to stay home with his aunt this past year while Dudley attended Reception. He kicked at the ground below the swing before slightly swaying back and forth. As the sound of the other children's laughter washed over him, he wondered why he couldn't be that carefree and well _normal_. Memories of his aunt and uncle yelling at him and calling him "Freak" replayed in his head. Harry began swinging faster and faster as scenes from his past flashed before his eyes. A feeling of utter desolation welled up inside him. The green eyes, which had been glowed previously, now appeared lifeless and dull as he stared straight ahead with his eyes unfocused.

The other children's laughter abruptly stopped as one by one each child gingerly stepped of the roundabout before scurrying to separate areas of the playground. The little girl who didn't appear to be much older than Harry crouched in the fence corner with her arms wrapped around her rocking body. The boy wandered aimlessly around the playground looking to and fro. His head never stopped its movements.

Dudley arrived at the playground followed by his group of friends. Taking in the tableau in front of him, he said in a voice that carried over the whole park, "Look, it's a bunch of freaks."

Harry awoke as if from a dream and his eyes slowly focused on Dudley after hearing his voice. The green eyes sprang to life once more as they shined with a light of inner fire. He knew that he couldn't say anything to Dudley without getting in trouble, but Harry really wanted to go and shove Dudley. Of course, Dudley probably wouldn't move too much as he was huge. Still, Harry desperately wanted to see Dudley fall or something.

Dudley spotted his cousin and knew that he could have some fun with Harry. He started walking towards Harry when he suddenly tripped over his own feet. Harry couldn't help but laugh as his very large cousin bounced before rolling to a stop by the sandbox. The two other children that had been in the park were also laughing at Dudley. Harry took the opportunity given by his cousin's mishap to escape from the park back to the house without Dudley being any the wiser.

Once Harry entered the house, he peeked in the living room to see if his aunt was still napping. Not seeing her in the room, he started to quail inside at the thought of the punishment he was going to get. A voice carried from the kitchen out to where Harry was. He heard his aunt making a doctor's appointment.

_Now why would she be making an appointment?_ Harry wondered.


	16. Days of Sorrow

A/N; Sorry about the delay. Petunia was not cooperating and then the scene with Mena was heart-wrenching. I still don't like it completely, but I thought I would post what I've got. Preview for next chapter- Harry and Mena/Ginny meet.

Chapter Fifteen--Days of Sorrow

October 29,1985--The Headmistress's Office, Surrey

Petunia Dursley shifted uncomfortably in her seat while waiting for the headmistress Alison Morton to get off the phone. She scowled at the memory of the phone call she had received summoning her to the school as if she really felt up to dealing with this today. Of course, they didn't tell her if the boy was in trouble or just hurt. Her eyes blazed with an intensity uncommon for her.

Unwillingly she flashed back to a time she was in a similar situation.

_Petunia Evans sat in a chair beside her mother in front of the headmistress's desk. Her fingers twisting around themselves, she feared facing her mother's disappointment yet again. She avoided meeting either of the occupants in the room's eyes. What had she been thinking? How could she do that to Lily,_ _she asked herself over and over. _

"_You see, Mrs. Evans, Petunia has started rumors here at school about your other daughter Lily and a schoolmate by the name of Severus Snape. But she didn't stop there. Today at lunchtime, it came to a head. Petunia, with three friends, deliberately taunted and made fun of Lily and Severus. In other words, they bullied the two younger children. Mrs. Evans, we can not allow and do not tolerate this type of behaviour in this school. If Petunia can't control herself and her tongue, you will have to find her another school to attend," the strict headmistress explained to Mrs. Evans._

_Petunia snuck a look at her mother through her hair, not wanting her mother to see her. Her heart sunk at the sight that met her eyes. Nothing she could say would convince her mother that what she had done had not been an act of deliberation. All she had wanted was to have her best friend back, but no, her oh, so wonderful sister had to go and make friends with that freakish boy. Lily never had time for her sister anymore. Well, Petunia had shown them, hadn't she? She didn't need her sister when Petunia had other friends who were willing to spend time with her._

_Not really paying attention to the conversation and what her punishment would be, Petunia continued to stew over the betrayal of her sister with "Neverus Severus." Her mouth pulled into a sneer at the thought of the sallow, stringy-looking boy. Not wanting to wallow on thoughts of him, she forced her attention back onto the conversation between the two women._

"_Your other daughter Lily was quite upset by this incident. She really is very sensitive and polite, isn't she? A more model student couldn't be found really than Lily."_

"_Thank you," Mrs. Evans smiled. "We know how fortunate we are to have her. Not to worry about Petunia. She will understand the errors of her ways, trust me." Mrs. Evans's smile hardened at this comment._

Petunia was startled out of her memory by the clearing of the headmistress's throat as she hung up the phone receiver. Not willing to allow the headmistress the upper hand, Petunia immediately started to voice her displeasure. "Well, what has the boy done this time? I honestly don't know what we are going to do with that boy. He hasn't even been in school long enough to get into trouble."

Ms. Morton looked puzzled at this. "But, Mrs. Dursley, Dudley was here all last year." The woman shook her head before she continued, "Dudley got into fights today with several of the other students. Actually, most of the students in the class got into fights during playtime. I can't even tell you how many phone calls I've had to make."

"Wait, did you say Dudley?" Petunia looked startled and then suspicious. "Are you sure it was Dudley and not my nephew that was part of this uproar? It sounds more like something he would do than Dudley."

"Harry Potter is your nephew, right?" asked the headmistress with her eyebrows up in her fringe.

"Yes," she sputtered out bitterly.

"What makes you say that it would be more likely for him to do something like this? That child is one of the most polite children I've ever seen. He's never raised his voice once. Most definitely he's never raised a fist. I don't understand why you would accuse him of anything. Harry was one of the few students who did not get into trouble for fighting today," Ms. Morton stated. Petunia just stared at the headmistress for several moments, remembering how perfect Lily always seemed to the teachers as well.

"So what happened at playtime?" Petunia finally asked in a very flat, bitter tone.

"Apparently Dudley and some friends started teasing one or two other stud--" the headmistress started before Petunia interrupted her.

"Dudley would never tease another child. He is too sensitive."

"Mrs. Dursley, you need to take a closer look at your son. He is a bully who preys on all those who are smaller than him, which is most everybody at school."

"I will not let you tell me about _my_ son. I know my child. Dudley couldn't hurt a fly. Now you say that the boy had no part in it. Well, where was he?" Petunia's eyes glittered harshly at the headmistress.

"Harry was outside; but according to the teacher, he generally spends most of his playtime on the swings away from everyone else. Why?" Ms. Morton looked quizzically at the woman in front of her, trying to decipher what she was thinking.

"Nothing. Is there anything else or can I take my son home now?" Petunia replied very petulantly.

"No, there is nothing else. Feel free to take him home. Be sure to keep him there for the next two days. He is suspended for the fighting."

"What?! How dare you suspend my child. He has a right to his education," Petunia huffed.

"Madam, our rules state that the first offense for fighting carries a punishment of a two-day suspension. I can't change that punishment for any reason. Besides, I think he needs the time to think about his attitude towards the other students," said the headmistress very calmly.

"Very well," Petunia's face hardened before she swept out of the room. The headmistress just shook her head at the theatrics that had been displayed before continuing her phone calls.

October 31, 1985--University College Hospital, London

The small redhead tried to peer out from her room in the Accident and Emergency Department of the hospital. She could not find her parents, whom she desperately wanted to see. Mena closed her eyes and wished she had her stuffed dragon to keep her safe. She couldn't remember how she got here and was so scared. When she opened her eyes, her faded green stuffed dragon was in her arms. The petite four year old was accustom to unusual things like this happening to her so she didn't think anything of the appearance of the animal.

A nurse bustled in to check on the little girl. She looked startled to see Mena awake. "Sweetheart, how are you feeling? Are you okay?"

"Where's my mummy? Where's my daddy?" The little girl started to cry as these questions poured out of her at the sight of an adult. The nurse bit her bottom lip as she stared at the little girl with regret in her eyes.

"I'm going to go get the doctor to look you over, okay? I'll be right back," the nurse murmured to Mena very gently. Backing out of the room, she hurried to the nurses' station to page the doctor.

A tall, young-looking doctor came into the room Mena was roaming. He watched her for a few seconds with heavy eyes before drawing her attention.

"Hello, beautiful. Can you come sit on this table for me?"

Mena giggled at his compliment. He reminded her of her Uncle Brian, who was also a doctor. She relaxed at this reminder as she complied with his request by nimbly hopping up onto the table.

"Wow. You've got great reflexes. Is it alright if I examine you and make sure that you are alright?" After seeing her nod, he began to gently examine her small body. After checking her for any injuries, he continued by asking her some questions.

"Beautiful, what is your name?"

"Mena," she answered a little bashfully.

"And how old are you, Mena?" the doctor asked.

"Four," she responded while holding up four fingers with her left hand and chewing on her index finger on the other. The doctor excused himself as he went to find a grief counselor. After the grief counselor arrived, they went back into the room where Mena was calmly playing with some dolls that had been provided for her.

"Mena, do you remember what happened tonight?" the doctor asked her.

She worried a her lip before responding. "Mummy and Daddy and me went out to dinner to celeb'ate. Daddy said that the last huddle" She looked slightly confused at this. "Had been cleared and I'm 'ficially going to be theirs next week." She paused apparently trying to remember what happened next. "After dinner, we were driving home. Daddy was driving because Mummy says that it's too difficult to 'member to drive on the left here. Daddy always drives." A look of terror blossomed across her small delicate face as she continued to remember. "I 'member a bright light coming straight at our car." The little girl started to shake. "I heard Mummy scream. Where are my parents?" Her big brown eyes looked up at the doctor, who felt paralyzed by the intensity in those eyes.

The doctor turned to the grief counselor, giving him a look that screamed "Help!". Seeing the rapport between the doctor and the child, the older blond grief counselor gestured for him to continue.

"Mena, I don't know how to say this. I don't even know that I should be the one telling you this." Shooting a glance at the counselor again, the doctor sat down bedside Mena on the table and placed his head in his hands. He sighed before rubbing his face with his hands. Looking at the little girl who held herself so stiff at his words, he prayed briefly for the right words to tell her. "You and your parents were in a car crash. I'm sorry to say that your parents are gone. They died before they made it to the hospital. It's amazing how you don't even have a scratch on you, actually." His forehead showed his puzzlement.

The grief counselor watched as the little girl just patted the doctor's cheek with tears streaming down her face. Moving to comfort the little girl, he was shocked as she pulled herself up and spoke to the doctor.

"So what does this mean for me now?" the petite redhead wondered through her quiet tears.

"I don't really know, Mena. Do you have any family?" the grief counselor answered seeing that the doctor was too choked up to answer.

"Mummy has three brothers and Daddy has a sister, but they aren't really related though. Does this mean that I'm an orphan again?" Mena's downcast face looked like she would never be happy again.

"Sweetheart, I'm not sure what it means yet. Things will be changing," the doctor said before pulling her into his arms where she wept until she could cry no more.


	17. Changes

A/N: I know it has been a while since I've updated, but these two scenes have been a struggle to write. To some, I know that I said that Harry and Mena meet thsi chapter, but unfortunately, it won't happen until next chapter now. I wanted to give you an update sooner.

Chapter Sixteen--Changes

November 1,1985--Number 4 Privet Drive, Surrey

Petunia Dursley hung up the phone rather violently before throwing herself into a chair at the kitchen table. _How dare he show his unnaturalness where others could see him, _Petunia fumed. _Like mother, like son. Lily always did take great pride in her freakishness, especially after that sallow boy told her what she was. He told her like it was a gift, but it's nothing but a curse. Well, I can't be expected to deal with it anymore._

Her thoughts shifted to her doctor's appointment earlier in the day. _Pancreatic cancer, he said. Maybe it is from the exposure to that cursed existence. That's it. If we get rid of him, then I'll get better. Even better still, that old kook will get quite a start if the boy wasn't here when "they" came for him. Now what was it that the letter said again? Oh, that's it. As long as he and I consider this house his home, he and my family will be safe. That meddling old fool said he had a way to tell if the boy was still here. We'll just see about that._ Petunia began to scheme.

Later, after dinner, Petunia sent the boys outside. Harry looked at her strangely since she hadn't made him clear the table as usual and she normally didn't condone him going to where others could see him. She flashed him a smile that turned into a grimace as a shot of pain rushed through her body. Harry apparently decided to not tempt fate and left. Seeing the boys headed to the playground, she turned to Vernon, who was getting ready to go into the living room to watch the telly as usual.

"Vernon, you need to sit down. I have some rather bad news to tell you," Petunia told her husband, laying her hand on his beefy arm. He returned to the kitchen table and sat with a scowl on his face.

"Is it that boy again? What did he do this time?" Vernon spat.

"Well, it is partly to do with him, but mostly to do with me. Vernon, I had a doctor's appointment today."

Vernon sat up and looked alarmed. "You're okay, right? I mean, there's nothing wrong, is there?"

Petunia sat across from her husband and took his hand in hers. "Darling, I know that you have noticed that I haven't been feeling well. The doctor's appointment today wasn't my first appointment, nor will it be my last. In fact, today was a second opinion." She stopped and took a deep breath. "I have cancer. That's why I have been in so much pain. They have recommended a treatment, but Vernon,"--another deep breath--"they don't think that I'll survive." Tears welled in her eyes as the reality of her situation rushed over her. She laid her head on her arms which were crossed on the table in front of her.

"What?!" The thought of his wife dying overwhelmed him to the point where he couldn't think about anything. He sat stunned in his chair. His faculties started to return and immediately thought of the unnaturalness that existed in his house. "THAT BOY DID THIS TO YOU, DIDN'T HE?" Vernon fairly screamed. At his scream, Petunia lifted her head to look at Vernon.

"Him and his damn unnaturalness!" he fumed as he stood up to pace around the room.

Petunia couldn't dispute this so she wisely said nothing as she wept silently, watching her husband. Vernon just mumbled under his breath as he stomped a path in the linoleum of the kitchen floor. His hands opened and clenched over and over. His face turned a bright purple. A decision was evident on his face as he turned back towards Petunia on his march.

"He simply must go," Vernon said. The calmness of his voice didn't match his thunderous expression at all.

Petunia nodded in agreement before adding "Tomorrow night, you take Dudley out for ice cream. I'll deal with the boy. He must still consider this place home if we don't want his lot to know that he is no longer here." Vernon agreed and pulled his wife up into a hug. He murmured to her words of comfort.

University College Hospital, London

Honey Belden rushed into the hospital room where Mena was quietly napping. The emotional roller coaster the little girl had been on was evident on her tear-ravaged face. A stuffed dragon was held tightly in her arms. Honey, who was nicknamed so because of the colour of her hair, reached down to gather the little girl that she considered her niece into her arms.

Mena, feeling arms around her, murmured sleepily, "Mummy?" One eye slowly blinked open and squinted into the light. Honey tightened her arms around the girl as tears slid down Honey's face. She whispered to Mena, "No, sweetheart, it's your Aunt Honey." The grief for her adopted brother and best friend had welled up in her chest so that she could barely breathe.

Mena, finally awake enough to see her aunt clearly, started to cry again. "Aunt Honey, it's so 'wful. Mummy and Daddy… I tried to save them, but I couldn't reach them. I'm so sorry. It's my fault."

"Mena, it's not your fault. It was an accident. You weren't driving. Your Uncle Brian and I are just grateful that you are alive."

"What will happen to me now?" Mena cried.

"Well, your Uncle Brian is at an appointment with your parents' solicitor to try to figure that out," Honey responded to the girl in her arms. "While he is doing that, you and I can spend time together, okay?" Feeling Mena nod, she continued, "Let's go see who can let us out of this place, shall we?"

After talking with and charming several people and promising to bring Mena back in a few hours, Honey and the little girl were on their way to visit Hyde Park Stables. Honey recalled her last visit to England where she and Trixie had taken Mena riding for the first time. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn that Mena was Jim and Trixie's child the way that she took to riding horses.

The next two hours were spent on horseback. Honey, with Mena riding on the strawberry roan in front of her, explored Hyde Park. The breeze that streamed across their faces helped both of them experience a freedom from the emptiness that had threatened to consume them. Honey pulled Mena a little closer to her as her thoughts returned to Jim and Trixie. Her move to Sleepyside, New York had changed her life in so many ways. No longer was she the little rich princess. Trixie had seen to that. Her sister of the heart, whose brother she had married just like Trixie had married hers, had been the most fearless tomboy Honey had ever met. The wind dried the tears that slipped down her face as Honey remembered all the adventures she and Trixie had had through the years.

Lost in her remembrances, Honey jolted when Mena pulled on the reins. When the horse slowed, Mena spoke up.

"Aunt Honey?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"Have you ever…" Mena stopped and bit her bottom lip while she thought for a moment. Shaking her head, she continued, "Never mind. When do we have to be back? Do you think Uncle Brian knows anything yet?"

Honey looked at her watch and gasped. She wondered where the time had gone. She took in her surroundings and realizing there was some distance to the stables, prodded the horses with her heels into a gallop.

"Hold on, Mena." As soon as the horse set of, Mena let out a scream of delight.

"Faster, Aunt Honey, faster."

"Darling, a horse can only go so fast. It's not a car."

Once they reached the stables, Honey groomed the horse before leaving to return to the hospital. Arriving at the hospital at the same time was Brian Belden. Mena ran to her uncle and threw her arms around him, crying again.

"What have you found out, Brian?" his wife asked him.

Brian looked grave and very uncomfortable, which let Honey know that the news wasn't good. Her husband never showed that much emotion as he had learned to school his features for delivering bad news during his medical internship. Sensing that he really didn't want to talk about it in front of Mena, Honey ushered the little girl through to the room that she had been assigned while figuring out the logistics of where she would go. Mena started playing with the toys in the room while Brian and Honey lingered in the hallway, talking in hushed whispers.

"So what did the solicitor say?" Honey demanded.

"We have no legal claim," Brian's dark eyes filled with pain as he told his wife about the meeting. "Even though she was almost adopted by Jim and Trix, we couldn't finish the adoption, especially since we have no plans to move here to England."

Honey flushed as she unknowingly echoed Trixie's sentiments from when Jim had given her similar news. "What good is all of our money if we can't use it to help our family?" Turning to her husband, she implored with a look of grief and pain on her face, "Is there nothing we can do?"

"I wish I could give you a different answer. You know I would try to give you the world if I could, love. However, the solicitor left no room for negotiation. Mena is a British citizen. Here is where she must stay," Brian replied, sweeping his wife in his arms as she started to weep as waves of grief came crashing down on her.

Mena glanced up to see her aunt wrapped in her uncle's arms crying. She immediately went to them and laid her hands on theirs. Honey and Brian felt their grief melting away as their niece's hands became ice cold. Looking into their eyes, the little girl knew the outcome, but still had to ask, "Aunt Honey, Uncle Brian, I'm not going to be able to stay with you and the family, am I?"

Honey took some steadying breaths before kneeling down in front of Mena. Taking the girl's hands in hers, she looked her directly in the eyes. "Oh, baby, I wish we could take you home with us. But you are an English citizen and as such, deserve to grow up here with all the wonderfulness that is England. I promise we won't forget you and will come visit when we can. They can't keep us away, can they?" She turned to look at her husband.

"No, the solicitor said that we would be able to visit. In fact, we get to take her to the children's home. This way we can see that it is an okay place for our ray of sunshine." Brushing his hand over her hair, Brian realized that he would never get to do that to his sister's hair again. Stuffing the emotion down, he held his hand out to Mena, who instantly took it. "What do you say we blow this popsicle joint?"

Mena laughed as Brian intended. "You're such an American, Uncle Brian." The trio headed out of the hospital to go to the orphanage where Mena would be staying.


	18. Encounters

A/N: Writing Petunia was very hard, but many thanks to deadwoodpecker for pushing me to finish that scene. But the scene you all have been waiting for happens finally.

Chapter Seventeen-- Encounters

November 2, 1985- Harper Place, London

Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore was reviewing his latest notes about the issues coming before the Wizengamot when the door to his office blew open. Seeing the dark-haired witch standing in the doorway glowering at him, he sighed. With a quick check of his calendar, he thought to himself, _I really must remember to set an alarm. Every year since 1981, she always comes to see me on this date. How _does_ she get past the gargoyle? Hmm._

The dark-haired witch marched up to the desk and proceeded to stare down the headmaster. Finally, he gave in and asked in a rather resigned voice, "To what do I owe this honor, Mrs. Longbottom?"

"What is it every time, Professor? Harry. How is my godson whom you won't even let me see?" Alice demanded in an exasperated tone with her arms crossed in front of her.

"I have someone watching him. He is safe."

"It's always the same thing with you. _He's safe_. I would prefer to hear he's loved myself. Better yet, I would prefer to _see_ him for myself," Alice said with a glare.

"You know that you can't go see him, Alice," Dumbledore replied gently.

"No, I don't know. All I know is that you insist that I can't see him, but you have yet to say why. I ask the same questions every time and yet, no answers are forthcoming." Alice's voice changed from sarcastic to pleading. "Please, I need to see him just to make sure that he's okay. This time of year has to be rougher on him than it is on me. Please?" Tears formed in her eyes. _Damn hormones_, she thought.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want to draw the attention of the Ministry to where Harry is."

"But why? What difference does it make if the Ministry catches onto where Harry is?" Alice questioned.

"Because right now he is safe and protected where no magical person can find him unless they were to literally trip over him. Tell me, Alice, as an Auror, would you say that all the Death Eaters were convicted and sent to Azkaban?" Dumbledore continued.

"Noooo," Alice drew out the word as she tried to figure out what he was trying to tell her. She shook her head in frustration.

"What do you think the Death Eaters who went free would do to the Boy-Who-Lived?" Dumbledore prodded.

"But I don't see how that is related to the Ministry, Professor."

"How do you think they got their charges dropped?"

"Well… I don't know." Her forehead wrinkled in concentration. "Are you intimating that the Ministry is corrupt and would turn Harry over to undesirables?" Alice queried.

"I'm merely offering you a possible reason for allowing your godson to stay, as the Muggles put it, "under the radar" of the Ministry. You can draw your own conclusions," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.

Alice reviewed their conversation in her mind with her thoughts snagging on one point. "So wait. Are you telling me that there are no magical people at all around Harry? How are you sure that he is safe then?"

"There is someone watching him."

"Someone who is not magical?! Someone who can't cast _Transparencio_ on the walls to see what is happening inside. Someone who can't cast a single spell to protect him," Alice fumed.

"Who do you think he needs protecting from? No magical person can find him without me. Therefore, the person I have watching him, whether magical or not, is more than good enough," Dumbledore grumbled. "Alice, why do you insist on thinking that Harry needs protecting?"

"Because unlike you, I know Lily's sister. I visited the Evans' house every summer during our Hogwarts years. Petunia considered us freaks. She treated everyone associated with the Wizarding world as if they had the plague, which included her parents. She was almost as bad as the Slytherins, who called Lily and I "PureMud" whenever they past us in the halls. Since she is Lily's only living relative, that is where I'm assuming that Harry is. I just hope that she hasn't treated him like she treated Severus. You know that Severus lived near them. She was horribly mean to him. In fact, I would go as far to say that she was worse than James and Sirius towards him," Alice explained.

"Alice, my brother Aberforth and I haven't gotten along terribly well either. Yet, I feel sure that if I had a child and something was to happen to me, that Aberforth would take care of my child to the best of his ability."

"I wish I had your faith in people, Professor," Alice said, rubbing her belly with her hand. "Maybe it's that I've seen too much as an Auror. But I just can't believe that Petunia's is the best place for Harry, especially now."

"What's changed? Why especially now?" Dumbledore asked.

"Frank and I are expecting another baby. Harry would have a family to share life with, which he would have before, but now he would be a big brother as well."

"Alice, you must know that I'm not going to change my mind. Where Harry is at is the safest place for him at the moment. I won't tell you where he is. The Wizarding world won't know where he is until it's time for him to come to Hogwarts," Dumbledore stated dismissively.

"All right, I'll go home. But you know…" Alice trailed off.

"Yes, I know you'll be back."

Harper Place, London

Four-year-old Mena Frayne stormed into her new room at the orphanage. Slamming the door closed behind her, she stamped her tiny feet in fury as her red hair settled around her shoulders. She fought back tears as she grabbed her dragon and pulled it to her chest, squeezing as hard as she could. Going over to her bed, she threw herself down face first. Snaking one arm out from under her, she pulled her pillow to cover her face and screamed. When that scream didn't relieve her emotions enough, she let out another longer scream. With the release of anger and frustration finally achieved, Mena rolled over to stare at the ceiling.

_Boys_, she thought._ I hate boys. Boys are so mean._ A pout spread across her pixie-like face. _Just because I'm new doesn't mean that they can be mean and say things about me._ Her face crumbled as she remembered what the boys had been teasing her about--her parents. Memories of her parents welled up inside her and tears flowed down her cheeks as she could no longer hold them in. _It's just not fair_. _I'd already lost my birth parents and now I've lost Mummy and Daddy as well. What is wrong with me?_

Mena stayed in her room crying until a friendly girl came by to remind her of dinner being served. She dried her tears and resolved to keep her chin up as her Daddy would have said. Strengthened by the thought of her dad, she made her way down the stairs to eat.

Number Four, Privet Drive, Surrey

Petunia Dursley watched her husband and son walk off towards the shops in town. Bracing herself for what she was about to do next, she turned towards her nephew with a slight smile on her face.

"Harry, come into the living room and sit down. I have to talk to you," Petunia said trying to sound friendly. Harry looked at her in shock. She motioned for him to follow her, which he did slowly. When she reached the sofa, she patted the seat beside her. Harry reluctantly crossed the room to sit as far away from her as possible while still sitting on the couch.

"Harry," Petunia searched for the words to start the conversation. "I have something to tell you." She paused. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. I'm so sorry that I haven't treated you very well over the years. Some news that I got recently is making me look back over things in my life. You see, I just found out I have cancer."

Harry's eyes grew wide as he listened to his aunt. "Cancer? Does this mean you're going to die?"

A sharp look crossed her face so fast that Harry missed it. "I'm going to have to have treatment. The doctors are hopeful. But they say that I must limit my stress."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Harry asked, not realizing that he was playing right into his aunt's hands. Petunia appeared very calm while she was doing a jig inside. She was pleased with how well everything was going.

"Actually there is. I'm not going to be up to taking care of everything around the house once my treatments start. Harry, I--I mean to say, we think it would be best if you were to live somewhere else while I'm having my treatments. This is just to reduce my stress levels. But, Harry, this is still your home. It will always be your home as long as I'm alive, okay?" Petunia worked extra hard to inject a sincere tone into her voice.

Harry sat very still on the end of the couch and Petunia wished not for the first time that she had magical powers so that she could figure out what he was thinking. She heard a very small voice say, "Are you sure this is my home? I mean, I want to whatever I can to help you. If it is better for me to live somewhere else, then I guess I have to. But doesn't that mean that where I live is my home?"

"No, Harry, it doesn't. Your home is here. You are just going to be going away for a little while. Kind of like going off to camp," Petunia reassured him, while on the inside she was pleading with him to just agree so she could take him to the orphanage.

"Okay," Harry mumbled. Petunia, hearing his response, immediately started her plans in motion. Telling Harry to go gather his things, she began getting ready for her drive to London. She didn't see the young boy's tears rolling down his face as he trudged out of the room to the cupboard under the stairs. A few short minutes later, Petunia loaded Harry's things into the boot of the car.

"We'll make a quick stop at a department store in London to buy you some clothes before taking you to where you will stay," Petunia informed Harry. _That way no one can think that we haven't been treating you well. Plus, hopefully, you will think that I've changed as a result of me being sick, _she thought. The small boy looked back at the house before joining his aunt in the car. Petunia's mood got more and more joyful the closer they got to London. She quickly purchased him some new clothes at a British Home Stores and had him put on one of the outfits before they headed to the place where he would be staying.

Pulling up to the curb, Petunia stopped the car and turned to Harry. "A few quick things, they might ask you who left you here. You can't tell them about our family. If you do, then they'll try to take you away from us. Then I wouldn't be able to come back and bring you home. You can tell them your name, but nothing else, okay? I don't want you to worry about anything. I'm starting my treatments tomorrow morning. As soon as I stop the treatments, I will come and get you to bring you home, okay?"

"Okay." Harry looked up at his aunt and looked like he wanted to give her a hug. She wanted him to go along with everything, but she didn't think her acting skills were that good. So she quickly interjected, "Now I have to get back to Surrey as I have an appointment first thing tomorrow, which is why I can't go in with you. However, I'm sure that you will be okay."

Harry slid out of the car and gathered his things, which included his new clothes, out of the boot. Collecting everything in his hands, he made his way up to the door to ring the bell.

Hearing footsteps come closer, Harry waited. The heavy door gradually slid open to reveal a small red-haired girl with red-rimmed eyes. When their eyes met, each felt a peace settle over them as if their very souls sighed saying "there you are."


	19. Emotions

A/N: So a shorter than normal chapter. I was planning on having more to it than this, but decided at the last moment that you've been waiting long enough. More is coming soon... Thanks to deadwoodpecker for naming the orphanage. Thanks to mhersheybar and deadwoodpecker for helping me with this-- you both are great!

Chapter Eighteen-- Emotions

November 2, 1985- Harper Place, London

While a peace had settled over Harry's soul, his mind had not received the message as his body started to shake in nervousness. He struggled for something to say to this girl, trying to fervently remember what he was doing there. He glanced down noticing the black and white tiles all orderly and neat and remembered his aunt. When he looked at her again, a smile greeted him.

"Hi!" she said warmly.

"Um, hi," he responded with a tiny quaver in his voice. He looked at the girl and silently gestured to his things.

"Oh, so you're going to be here too? My name is Mena. I just came yest'day. So I can tell you all about what to do. Here let's go to the matron's office first." Harry felt rather than saw a little hand grab his. Looking down at their joined hands, he felt his feelings of bewilderment and nervousness slowly fade away while Mena's hand grew warmer as she lead him straight to the office.

Once there, Mena politely knocked on the door. When a woman with hair the color of straw answered, Mena gave Harry a jaunty wave and whispered "See you soon." Harry looked at the woman, who motioned him to come in and take a seat and back at the girl who was now walking away from him. He felt more abandoned now than he did when his aunt left him at the curb.

Slowly he trudged his way into the room. It had an unusual feel as if the room used to be two separate ones, instead of the one slightly large room. The woman went back around her rather messy desk that was covered in papers and sat down. "Sorry about the door being closed. I was trying to get caught up on my paperwork. As you can see, it can get a little overwhelming. And the children, well, they can get a little loud and boisterous sometimes." At this, Harry's eyes widened. He was taken aback to hear an adult claim to be overwhelmed. He thought that she was nothing like Aunt Petunia, which made him slightly afraid as she was nothing like what he was used to.

"Well, then," she continued. "My name is Ms. Thomas. I'm the matron here. Would you like a peppermint? No? What can I do for you? Are you here to visit someone?" She answered her own question and shook her head. "No, you wouldn't have come to my office." After a few seconds, she asked "Did someone leave you here?" Harry, remembering what his aunt told him, refused to answer.

Seeing his refusal to answer in his eyes, Ms. Thomas tried a different tack. "What is your name?"

Harry, unable to see how answering that could be harmful, replied, "Harry," in a soft voice.

Straining to catch his answer, she then pressed. "What's your family name, Harry?"

"Potter. But I don't have any family," he responded with a sad, sorrowful look.

"Then who have you been living with, Harry?" she questioned. He looked at her only to find a puzzled look on her face. He wanted to tell her that there was no reason to be puzzled that he had been living with his aunt, uncle and cousin, but his aunt's voice sounded in his head. _You can't tell them about our family. If you do, then they'll try to take you away from us. Then I wouldn't be able to come back and bring you home. You can tell them your name, but nothing else, okay?_

With those lines constantly replaying in his head, he refused to answer any more questions that Ms. Thomas posed. He noticed that she just shook her head as she wound down her questions. Harry thought he heard her mutter something about stupid people and leaving a child, but he really didn't understand. His head was starting to hurt from the thoughts that raged. He vaguely heard the matron say something about getting his room ready and that he should head down for dinner.

As he left the matron's office, Harry was startled to see the little redhead sitting on a bench in the hall, apparently waiting for him. The feeling of abandonment left him at that instant.

"Umm, hi again." His forehead crinkled, "Are you waiting for me?" He didn't understand why she would be, but then she was here.

"Yes, silly. I tho' I would come back to take you down to dinner. I only left because I 'membered that we left your things in the hall. So I put them in my room. " As she said this, she started pulling on his arm to get him moving. As they walked, she continued her chatting. "Did the Matron tell you where your room is? Oh, I hope you're near mine. You will be my friend, won't you? Pease say you will. There are some other boys here who are so mean, but I can tell that you're not like that. What did you say your name was again?"

"My name is Harry, Harry Potter," he finally managed to reply after his brain had finally caught up to what Mena had been saying. After the talk with his aunt and his arrival combined with the questions asked by the matron, Harry's brain was on overload. He totally missed everything that the girl said to him after he gave her his name. Mechanically, he went into the cafeteria, following the steps of Mena. His journey through the line netted him food, but none of it seemed to register in his brain. Only two thoughts seemed to repeat over and over in his mind. _Aunt Petunia has cancer and I can't go home until she's better. _

Mena directed Harry to a table, which he sat down at only to robotically eat. She continued with her rather one-sided conversation. Neither of them noticed as children all around them started doing unusual things. One child, who had been taking his plate to dump his trash, started to circle the tables as if looking for something. Others stopped eating and cocked their heads as if listening. A boy repeatedly hit himself in the head. Several girls' food were sliding off their forks as they failed to get the forks to their mouths, causing their food to go all over the floor. Even the adults were acting confused. It wasn't until Mena reached across the table to direct Harry's attention to dessert that Harry snapped out of it and the room seemed to return to normal.


	20. Bullies and Old Friends

Lots of thanks to give out for this chapter. Thanks to deadwoodpecker for naming the orphanage and the bully as well as giving me the idea for the accidental magic that occurs. Thanks to all who have helped spot any inconsistencies, like mhersheybar and Deb.

Chapter 19--Bullies and Old Friends

When Mena's hand touched Harry's to show him the dessert, he jolted causing her to realize that he hadn't really been paying attention. She looked at him with his messy black hair and wondered what it was about him that seemed to soothe her. Ever since he had arrived, the knot in her stomach caused by her grief for her family and her anger at those stupid boys had loosened.

As she had been lost in her thoughts, she didn't see the group of boys approach their table. The tall, light brown haired boy came to the end of the table closest to Harry and Mena. He leaned over the edge to come even closer.

"So you're new here, hmmm? Well, there are some things that you are going to need to learn. For example, why would you sit with this skinny little red? I mean, she just lost her _parents_. Don't you know that she's all sad and stuff? Anyway, you can come join us at the boys' table from now on. The name's Chase by the way."

At first. Harry looked at the boy before looking at her. He didn't say a word, just looked incredibly sad when the boy mentioned that Mena had lost her parents. After Chase finished speaking, he waited for Harry to speak. After several moments of silence, Chase elbowed the closest boy in the group. Tossing his head towards Harry, he said, "Get a load of the new boy. Total dumb-o." Turning back to Harry, he continued "What- cat got your tongue?"

Harry held his tongue and refused to talk to Chase. Mena, refusing to allow these bullies the opportunity to hurt her new friend, jumped out of her seat to defend him.

"Why don't you just leave us alone?" she said giving him a scathing look.

"Oh, look, the little red one is willing to stand up for someone else. Funny, since she couldn't stand up for herself earlier. Remember, guys she just ran off like a little baby." Chase taunted Mena cruelly.

Mena's brown eyes flashed with annoyance. At that moment, a great ripping sound echoed through the cafeteria. Everyone in the room looked around for the source. Chase's eyes went wide as he slowly backed his way towards the wall. Mena watched as the older boy made his way out of the room, making sure to keep his back to the wall the whole way.

Harry looked at Mena and said only half-teasing, "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

"What do you mean?" Mena asked as she was still trying to figure out what exactly had happened.. She reviewed the scene in her mind, but it was like there was a hole for a second or two in the scene. In thinking about this, she missed the first part of what Harry had said.

"Anyway, do you think that you could give me a tour of this place so I know where everything is?" Harry asked rather shyly.

"Absolutely. Let's go find out where your room will be," Mena answered. Together they cleared off their table and went to find the matron. Ms. Thomas explained that Harry's room was beside Mena's as they fill the rooms as children come. Mena and Harry toured the orphanage together with Mena being sure to point out the bathrooms as well as the game and telly room, which were side by side on the ground floor before they headed up the stairs. Talking as they climbed the four flights of stairs, Mena learned that Harry had lost his parents at an early age, but had lived with his aunt and uncle before coming to the orphanage. When she asked him why he wasn't with his family, she noticed that his eyes, which had been sparkling before, went flat and shuttered. Taking that as a sign that she should avoid that topic, Mena told Harry about her life that she remembered. Her feeling that things were going to be better now that Harry was here was echoed by the boy himself as they unpacked his things in his room.

Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore was standing at the window to his office, watching students make their way back through the gates of Hogwarts from Hogsmeade. A sound from one of the instruments behind him made him turn around. The device that measured the wards around Privet Drive where he had hidden Harry had stopped its revolving. Dumbledore picked it up and tapped it with his finger. Instantly the instrument started revolving again. He stopped for a moment and pondered what could have happened. Deciding to make sure that everything was all right, he crossed to the fireplace. Grabbing a pinch of Floo powder, he threw it into the fire and called out Privet Drive. He stuck his head as the Floo connected him to Arabella's house.

When his head finally showed up in the grate, Arabella was on her knees in front of the fireplace.

"Yes, Albus?" she said.

"Arabella, is there anything strange going on over at the Dursley's?" Dumbledore asked, rather concerned by what he had seen the instrument do.

"Well, Harry and his aunt went for a ride today, which was a bit unusual, but the car is back in its park. So apparently everyone is back safe and sound," Arabella responded.

Dumbledore thought about this news for a moment and figured that the instrument must have had a small malfunction. After all it had been known to happen. He thanked Arabella and reminded her to contact him if she saw anything strange. Then he pulled his head out of the fire and returned to his vigil by the window, making sure that all of his students returned from Hogsmeade.

December 1985- Diagon Alley

Alice Longbottom used her wand to tap the bricks to allow them into the shopping alley. As the bricks started to move, she watched as her son's and his favorite sitter, Nymph's eyes still grew wide at the sight of the magnificent magic displayed. She hoped that they never lost their wonder of magic. Looking at the crowds, she decided that the first stop would have to be Flourish and Blott's. Mentioning this to the kids, Neville started to protest.

"But Mum, can't we go to Fortescue's Ice Cream Shop first? I'm dying for some food."

"Neville, you just ate. Besides, we're here to buy Christmas presents. Don't you think we need to get started? We do have quite a few presents to buy, starting with a certain book for your father," Alice reminded her son.

"Oh, what kind of book are you going to get for Mr. Longbottom? Is it something to do with Aurors?" Nymph asked, looking at Alice with pure admiration in her sparkling eyes. Alice had noticed that the second year Hogwarts student had been asking her all sorts of questions about being an Auror. She had been teetering on the edge about buying Nymph some books about Aurors for Christmas, but this comment pushed her over that edge.

"No, actually, Frank's been wanting some books about herbology. I think he wants to start a greenhouse or something. I find it strange as it wasn't his favorite class at Hogwarts," Alice responded.

Neville just cocked his head and looked at his mum. "Well, Mum, maybe he wants to look into the defensive properties of plants. I mean, aren't there some plants that are useful in defense?"

"Maybe," Alice narrowed her eyes at her son. Neville just looked right back at her. She contemplated having a talk with her husband about coaching their son, but decided that one of the joys of having children was using them to help defend yourself to your spouse. "But let's duck into the bookshop before Diagon Alley gets even more crowded."

Alice, Neville and Nymph made their way into the store. Nymph and Neville separated from Alice as they were discussing what to get their respective parents. Alice smiled as she watched the two interact. They really did act more like sister and brother than sitter and charge. The older woman set off to find all the presents she needed to gather in this particular store. As she turned the corner of a row of books to get in line to check out, she noticed that Nymph and Neville were holding their shopping bags. She was going to have to get on Nymph for using her money to help Neville purchase his gifts. With a nod of her head, she resolved to pay Nymph extra for the next time that she watched Neville for them. After all, it might be that the little one would need watching as well then. As she finished up paying for her things, she noticed Nymph was standing near the window watching something or someone. Catching a glimpse of someone that she hadn't seen in years, she hurried outside.

"Remus, you old wolf, you. Where have you been? I haven't seen you in many moons." Alice greeted her old Hogwarts friend.

"Alice? Is it really you?" Remus looked amazed to see her.

"Yes, Remus, it's me." Alice's eyes clouded a bit as she continued. "So how have you been? I know that with everything that happened, it can't have been easy for you."

"I'm managing. Losing all of them at once was a blow, but…" Remus trailed off as he looked lost in memories. He gave a start before continuing, "I'm coming along okay. How about you? Wait, are you… pregnant? Alice, are you and Frank having another baby?"

"We decided that it was time that Neville had a sibling, especially since the old coot won't see fit to let me have my godson. I'm telling you, Remus, if I find out that Harry has been harmed in any way by Lily's awful sister, well, let's just say that Azkaban will be less one prisoner and we'll go hunting a wizard."

Remus took a step back after seeing the fierce look in Alice's eyes. Then he caught her meaning about Azkaban. "Alice, you can't mean that you would break Sirius out. He betrayed James and Lily. Look at what he did to poor Peter. You have a family to take care of."

"Remus, you can't honestly tell me that you believe the nonsense that Sirius was the Secret-keeper, can you? There is no way that Sirius would EVER have betrayed Harry. He loves that child more than his own life, more than anyone else on this planet. There is nothing he wouldn't do for Harry. No, I won't have to break him out. I'll just use the Longbottom- Bones family connections and get him out legally. I've been working on it for years, but soon I'll have him out. Then Dumbledore won't be able to stop us from getting Harry."

Just then, Neville pulled Nymph up to the pair. Alice made the introductions. She thought she saw a flash of recognition in Nymph's eyes, but it was gone so fast that she figured that she must have imagined it. Dismissing it, she turned to Remus. "How about joining us for Christmas dinner? We would love to have you. We could all catch up."

Remus looked thoughtful for a moment before responding, "Oh, I have other plans that day with some old friends. Some people that I haven't seen in a while that I really must catch up with. You understand, right?"

Alice wanted to argue, but her lessons in manners as a child prevented her. However, she was shocked when her son blurted out, "But Mr. Lupin, why would you lie to my mother? If you don't want to come on Christmas, just say so."

"Neville!" Alice said, scandalized that her son would accuse a friend of lying. She wondered if this situation was similar to the one that had occurred on Neville's birthday.

"What?" Neville just looked at his mum with a completely innocent look. There were no misgivings or doubts on his face.

"You don't accuse someone of lying," she scolded, "especially not a friend."

Remus spoke up rather sheepishly. "No, it's all right, Alice. I guess I'm not as good of a liar as I thought. Alice, two days after Christmas is the fu…"

Alice interrupted him. "Say no more. I understand. I'm sorry I had forgotten about watching the time. Maybe you'll come over for New Year's instead and have a toast with us."

"I should be sufficiently recovered by then," Remus nodded. "Well, I must run. My job is calling me."

As the trio of shoppers watched Remus leave, Alice overheard Nymph whisper, "He's so incredibly cute." Then she paused before saying louder, "I know I've seen him before, but when?"


	21. The Trouble with Snakes

A/n: This is the longest chapter so far. Thanks to Mel for her beta work. :D Thanks to all who read and especially those who review! More is coming, including Mena's POV on the end scene. :)

Chapter 20--The Trouble with Snakes

Over the next months, Harry rarely left Mena's side. The hopeful feeling that had started growing inside him when he met her seemed to grow stronger when they were together, and he could tell by her smiles that Mena felt the same. There were very few times that one walking the halls in Harper Place would see Harry without Mena and vice versa; Mena was nearly always the one talking and gesturing to Harry, who was usually content to simply sit and listen intently to his new best friend. There were periods of time when something unusual, like what had happened the first day in the cafeteria, would happen again. For instance, there was once when someone had given Mena a new pink sweater that she thought was ugly. When it came time for her to wear it, the sweater was several sizes too small for her to wear. Mena just gave it to Ivie, a three-year-old who lived on their floor, for one of her dolls. The two friends didn't think anything of the strange occurrences that happened in their presence, but that quickly changed when the pair went on a field trip to the zoo.

April 1986—Harper Place, London

Mena's excitement was contagious as she bounded into Harry's room without so much as a knock. Harry looked up at his best friend while he finished putting on his socks. He smiled at the sight that greeted his eyes. The tiny redhead was literally bouncing from one foot to the other, ready to go. Seeing that Harry hadn't put on his shoes yet, she said, "Come on, you're so slow. Let's go."

"Mena," the older boy said, "Calm down. I promise the animals won't disappear before we get there." Harry put his trainers on before going to check his appearance in the mirror. The matron demanded a neat appearance at all times. He tried to run a comb through his hair, but it persistently stuck up in the back.

"Oh you look fine. Matron won't be upset. She knows how your hair is. Now let's go." Mena crossed the room to her best friend and pulled him out of the room heading towards the front entryway. Children milled around the foyer in varying states of excitement and boredom. It seemed that the younger the child, the more excited they were. Seeing no adults in sight yet, Harry sat down on one of the bottom steps to wait. He watched Mena as she danced around the entryway with Fiona, another four-year-old, who lived on the same floor as they did. Harry laughed at Mena and Fiona's antics as they went from child to child acting like clowns in a circus.

Before he could comment, the door to the matron's office opened and out stepped the adults who would be chaperoning the trip to the zoo. Each level of the orphanage had a floor parent, even the fifth floor, which had no one living on it. All of the floor parents as well as Ms. Thomas were serving as chaperones today.

The matron called for attention and laid out the logistics for the outing. Harry was happy to note that he was in the same group as Mena. While he had become friendly with some of the others in the home, he never felt as comfortable with any of them as he did with Mena. In fact, none of the others knew much more about him than his name. Only Mena had gotten close enough to truly know anything substantial about Harry.

Harry was pulled away from his thoughts by his best friend once again tugging on his arm as everyone was getting ready to leave the building. He glanced up at the chaperone of his group, Miss Stephens, his floor mother. She was very young-looking with shoulder-length straight black hair and sparkling blue eyes. She gathered her group of five children around her. She squatted in the midst of them to give them directions. The children lined up as she asked.

"Don't let go of each other's hands, okay? I want everyone to get to the zoo safely." She took a deep breath. "Here's what going to happen as I know Edward especially wants to know 'what's next?' We are going to walk to Charing Cross station where we will catch bus 29. Fiona, what two numbers make up the number 29?"

"The number two and nine, Miss Stephens," the girl responded eagerly with a wide smile.

"Great job. Now we will get on the bus together and sit _together_," she stressed the final word. "We'll ride the bus to Camden Town, where we will get off and walk to the zoo. Now does everyone understand?" All five children nodded.

"All right then. Off we go." The little group was the last to leave for the station. Harry was busy taking in the sights as they were walking a different route than how they walked to catch the bus for school. As they neared the station, he caught a glimpse of a small pub. He tried to see the name on the sign, but couldn't quite make it out.

"Harry, did you see--" Mena started to ask Harry a question, but her voice was drowned out by the crowd of people around them. His eyes were caught by the sight of a tall column that had a man holding a sword on top. As he neared the square, he saw four lions surrounding the base of the column almost as if they were guarding the man. The group halted by a sign listing the bus routes. Harry ran into Mena, almost knocking her down, as his gaze was fixed by the sight of the statue and the lions.

Miss Stephens, seeing the incident and after checking on Mena, followed Harry's gaze. "Oh, so you like the statue of Lord Horatio Nelson, do you, Harry? I must admit, his lions are a sight. Friends of mine have actually climbed on the back of one of those lions. You know we'll get to see real ones today at the zoo."

Edward tugged on her hand. "Miss Stephens, will monkeys be there?" the little boy asked, talking around the thumb in his mouth.

"Edward," she scolded. "What have we talked about with your thumb?" Seeing him take his thumb out, she continued, "Yes, I'm sure that we'll see the monkeys and all sorts of animals." As the big red double deck bus pulled up, she added. "This is our bus."

The children climbed aboard. Fiona and Mena wanted to go up top but Miss Stephens vetoed that idea by pulling them all into seats. The conductor just nodded as Miss Stephens showed him their Travelcards. Harry, having never been to this part of London, just goggled as they passed the National Galleries on their way to Leicester Square. Pointing out the huge signs touting the newest movies and plays showing in Leicester Square to Mena, she responded by pressing her face against the glass in her eagerness to see everything. The bus made many stops along the way up Charing Cross Road and Tottenham Court Road.

Mena grabbed Harry's hand as they passed University College Hospital. Harry looked over at her, wondering why she had reached for him. For the first time, he saw an expression on Mena's face that was so heart-breaking. Harry had never seen her cry as she was always the one full of sunshine, but he was scared that she just might now. He watched as she tore her gaze away and looked at the train leaving a station on their right. Her countenance returned to her traditional smile and Harry gave a small sigh of relief as he didn't know what he would have done if Mena had started crying.

Arriving at their destination, the small group disembarked and Miss Stephens lead them on their walk to the zoo's entrance. Seeing all the people in the area, Harry held Mena's hand a little tighter. Mena smiled at him as she squeezed his hand along their walk.

Miss Stephens handled the transaction of getting all into the zoo. Once inside, she pulled them to a nearby bench to plan out their day.

"So what animal do each of you want to see the most?" she asked the group.

Edward immediately chimed, "Monkeys."

"Fish," Fiona replied.

Mena thought about it for a minute or two, before answering, "Turtles."

Harry quietly responded, "Lions, please."

Miss Stephens turned to Ivie, who hadn't answered yet. The tiny black-haired girl, who rarely spoke a word, turned red and whispered, "Otters." Luckily, Miss Stephens was very close or otherwise she never would have heard Ivie.

"All right, then. Let me check the map and plan out our attack of the zoo." Miss Stephens started them on their walk. Most of the day Mena was bouncing around Harry trying to get him excited about the animals. However, it just wasn't in Harry's nature to be bouncy like it was Mena's. To him, it just wasn't too exciting to walk about seeing some caged animals. Although he would never tell anyone, this was because it reminded him of his time at school in Surrey. He always felt like he was caged in when his cousin and friends would chase him around the playground, which happened every day.

Two exhibits held some excitement for Harry.

When the group watched the lions, Harry's eyes met the lion's. He felt an awareness similar to the one he had when he first met Mena. For a few moments, he thought about mentioning something to Mena about what happened, but decided against it as she was already wandering to the next exhibit with Fiona.

The next bit of excitement came when the group was in the Reptile House. As they entered, Harry noticed that Mena headed towards the turtles right away. A young girl with long blonde hair joined Mena at the display. Not wanting to be drawn into a conversation with a strange girl, he wandered over to the display of a boa constrictor. The snake was lying on a log. Harry assumed the snake was asleep and so went to go to another display when he saw another group from the orphanage enter. Both Harry and Mena had mentioned that they were glad that the groups were split up and that they hadn't really seen anyone else from the orphanage today. Harry groaned when he saw the five boys who had arrived. A quick glance towards Mena told Harry that she was involved in a conversation with the blonde girl. He hoped that the boys would leave her alone today. In fact, he decided that if they headed her way, he would move to intercept them.

The boys, with Chase in the lead, jostled their way past the other visitors in the exhibit. As they neared Harry, he backed away from the glass by the snake. He watched as Chase tapped lightly on the glass in an effort to wake the snake. Seeing no movement, he turned to the other boys as if to say "Watch this." Harry looked for the chaperone for this group, but did not see anyone other than Miss Stephens, who was carefully watching Ivie and Edward for signs of fear. Turning back to Chase, he watched as the other boy pounded on the glass and yelling at the snake to wake up.

Harry was startled to see the snake raise up and look at the boys. The snake proceeded to slither forward to the close edge of the display and dart its head forward as if it was going to attack Chase. The group of boys all screamed and went running out of the building.

Harry couldn't help but laugh, especially as the snake simply slid back to its original perch. He drew closer to the display and whispered to the snake, "Good show." The snake's eyes widened as it bowed its head at Harry. Harry continued to talk to the snake. "That was incredible. I'm sure you must get that all the time."

When the snake nodded, Harry took a step back. His eyes wide, he grew very still. Thinking, he whispered again, "Can you understand me?" When the snake nodded again, this normally shy boy looked around to see if anyone was watching. Seeing no one very close by, he smiled widely as he stepped closer to the display and started a one-sided conversation with the creature.

After a few minutes, the group of boys who had been scared by the boa earlier came back in with their chaperone and a zoo official. Chase walked up to the display and knocked Harry out of the way. He pointed to the snake and declared to the official, "This is the animal who attacked me." Harry rolled his eyes as he listened to Chase's accusation. It seemed that, as usual, Chase was trying to get others in trouble when all they did was stand up for themselves.

The official looked scathing at the boy as he responded, "But that snake is behind glass. There's no way that he could have attacked you." With that, he swept out of the Reptile House. The chaperone sighed, told the boys to meet him outside in five minutes and left the building as well.

Chase, shaking with rage, turned to the snake and said "You nasty slimy animal. If I could get at you, why, I would kill you myself." The glass for the display in front of Chase disappeared as he said this. Sensing the danger, the other boys scrambled to leave. Chase, not realizing that the rest of his gang had left, blanched as the snake slithered towards him with no barriers between them.


	22. Unexpected News

A/N: Okay, so this isn't as long as I had planned because I decided to put the next part off until the next chapter. It will be a doozy of a chapter next time. :D Thanks to all who have read and reviewed. It's so neat to see how many different countries my readers are from. :D

Chapter 21--Unexpected News

April 1986- London Zoo

Mena Frayne skipped along the sidewalk, going ahead of her group towards the Reptile House. She couldn't wait to see the turtles. She thought they were just cute with how they climb into their shell to protect themselves.

Once she reached the door, she looked back to watch everyone following her. Harry was such a disappointment to her today. Every time she had seen something cool and wanted to tell him about it, he had brushed her off. For instance, when she saw these people dressed so strangely go into an interesting looking pub, she had started to say something to her best friend. But did he listen to her? No, he was too busy looking at the statues of the lions. Then he almost knocked her down. Then, when they actually visited the lions at the zoo, she had a weird feeling creep over her. Harry, however, didn't seem to care at all.

Seeing most of her group catch up, she darted around some adults to enter the house. She stopped just inside the doorway to take in her surroundings. Spotting the turtles, she crossed to the exhibit.

A long-haired blonde joined her at the exhibit. The girl wasn't that much taller than Mena, so Mena thought they must be about the same age.

"Hello," the girl said.

"Hi," Mena responded without taking her eyes off the turtle swimming through the water behind the glass. "Aren't turtles the most incredible creatures? I mean, look at how they can survive anywhere because they always carry their house with them."

The girl seemed to think for a minute before saying, "I tend to agree with you, but my father insists that it's the Crumple- Horned Snorkack. My mom, though, prefers eagles. But then that was her house mascot at Hogwarts."

Mena knew she must have a dazed look on her face because she was totally confused by what the girl was saying. _Snorkack_? _Hogwarts?_ She had never heard of any of those things in her Reception class. Deciding that whether or not the girl was strange, clearly she had good taste in animals, so Mena determined that she liked the girl. Shaking her head, she stuck out her hand. "My name is Mena Frayne. I live at Harper Place here in London."

"Luna Lovegood. I live in a place called Ottery St. Catchpole. My dad brought me here because he wanted to see if he could find any Nargles." The girl just rolled her blue eyes at this.

Mena and Luna continued to chat as they made their way around the displays of the various types of turtles. Hearing a commotion behind them, Mena whipped around to see Harry sprawled on the floor behind Chase. The older boy was facing a long snake that was no longer encased in glass like all the other reptiles. Mena stood rooted to the spot just watching it all unfold.

Harry stood up and started making this hissing sound toward the snake. Mena didn't know what to make of it as the snake turned from Chase and started sliding toward Harry. Instinctively Mena raced towards Harry and grabbed his arm. She focused on keeping the snake away from them. When the snake reached about a foot away from the duo, it stopped as if it hit a brick wall. The snake hissed and Harry, at least to Mena's eyes, seemed to respond. She was extremely puzzled by what was happening. The snake apparently decided not to try to get any closer and instead slithered its way out the door.

Once the snake had headed for the door, Mena let go of Harry and stepped away from him. "What was that, Harry?" she asked, terrified.

Harry tilted his head to look at her. "What do you mean, what was that? That was a boa constrictor, Mena."

"I mean, that hissing sound. What was that hissing sound coming from you?"

"I don't know what you mean," Harry stated, sounding very unsure of himself, at least to Mena's ears. "I didn't hear any hissing sounds. Say, how do you think the snake got loose?" Harry asked, rubbing his chin. "I mean, one minute the glass was there. The next it wasn't."

"Okay, if you didn't hear the hissing sounds, what about the fact that the snake was going to attack you?" Mena couldn't wrap her mind around what had happened. She refused to be sidetracked from what she considered the real issue here.

"Mena, the snake wasn't going to attack me. He was coming over to say thanks. For what exactly, I don't know."

Before Mena could ask him how he knew that, Luna interjected. "He's right, Mena. The snake had only good intentions. Just like your friend when he let the snake go."

"But I didn't let the snake go," Harry protested.

At the same time Mena was saying, "But how could you possibly know?"

"It's just a part of who I am," Luna replied with a shrug. Turning to Harry, she simply said, "You're the only one who could have let the snake go."

At this point, Miss Stephens came over to Harry and Mena to inform them that it was time to go. She had seen none of the incident being too involved with calming Edward and keeping an eye on Ivie and Fiona.

Harry and Mena walked away with their group heading back to Harper Place. Mena could not figure out what to say to Harry to make him understand how scared she had been seeing the snake heading towards him. It had been like she was back in the car with her adoptive parents all over again, except then she hadn't been able to touch her parents because she had been in her car seat. Somehow she just _knew_ that if she had been able to touch them, then she could have saved them from the crash. This time, though, she had been able to reach Harry, but she still didn't know what had happened exactly.

Looking over at her best friend, who was currently staring out the bus window, Mena could see that he had that blank look on his face again. She knew that whenever he had "that look", she needed to do something to snap him out of it. Normally, that meant bouncing over to him and making him smile like only she could. But she didn't know if she could do it today. She turned away to look out her window.

May 24, 1986- St. Mungo's Hospital

Neville Longbottom looked up from his _Tales of Beedle the Bard_ book when the door to the waiting room opened. Seeing a familiar-looking man come in, he paused and watched his grandmother cross to talk with him. With a crinkled forehead, he peered at the two who sat nearby deep in conversation. He searched his memories trying to place where he had seen the man before. Suddenly he let out an "Aha!" The other two occupants of the room looked up startled. Neville just grinned as he crossed to them.

"Hello, Mr. Lupin. Have you come to wait for my baby brother or sister to come as well?" Neville asked the man sitting with his grandmother.

"Hello, Neville." Remus smiled at him. "No, I actually came to see Damocles Belby about a new potion that he is working on. But I heard that your mum was here ready to have her new baby, so I thought I would drop by and see how everything was going."

Just then Frank Longbottom stepped into the room looking a little dazed. Neville ran to his dad and threw his arms around him. Looking up at Frank, Neville asked, "How's Mum? How's the baby?"

"Your mum is good. As for your little brother, Evan James is…" His dad looked to be in shock. "Well, he's perfect, just like you," Frank stated, smiling down at his son.

"I have a brother?" Neville looked at his dad, who nodded. "I have a brother!" Neville started dancing around the room, chanting "A brother. I have a brother." While he was dancing around, Neville still paid attention to the adults.

"So you named him after Lily and James, eh?" Remus said to Frank. Augusta, Neville's grandmother sniffed and looked away.

"Alice wanted to do something to remember them. I don't think she's gotten over losing Lily yet. Plus, she figured that once we finally get Harry back where he belongs, this will help him feel a part of the family since he and Evan share a middle name," Frank explained, looking rather sheepishly at his mother.

Neville puzzled over who Lily, James and Harry were. He remembered hearing those names before, but could never connect them to anything. But his dad said that his mum wanted to remember Lily and James. Didn't that normally mean that they were dead? What about Harry? Didn't his dad say something about 'feeling a part of the family'? Deciding to speak up, Neville interrupted the conversation that had continued while he was ruminating.

"Dad, who is Harry?" Neville asked.

Frank froze. Augusta smirked and Remus just looked trapped. After a minute of staring at Neville, who just stared back, Frank swallowed very loudly. "Umm. Well, he's your godbrother, Neville."

"Godbrother? What's a godbrother?" Neville questioned.

"A godbrother is the name for a boy who is like your brother, but that one of your parents is their godparent," his grandmother answered.

"Godparents? You mean, like Uncle Dirk is my godfather? Wait, so are you this Harry's godfather, Dad?" Neville asked, tilting his head to the side, looking up at his dad.

"No, son. Your mum is his godmother, just like his mother was yours. But you see, Harry's parents died several years ago," Frank explained in a pained voice.

Thinking this over for a few minutes, he watched the adults who seemed to struggle with memories at these words, especially Mr. Lupin. "But then why haven't I met Harry? Is he older than me? No, that doesn't make sense. I still should have met him, even if he was old enough to be at Hogwarts. I mean, I know Nymph."

"Neville, Harry is a day younger than you. You haven't met him because he's being kept from us. Your mum is working on getting him back with us. So hopefully you will get to meet him soon." Taking a deep breath, his dad shrugged. "Now who would like to go meet Evan?"

As Neville prepared to see his little brother, he reflected on all that he had learned as he knew that everything that was told to him was one hundred percent true.


	23. Unexpected News, pt 2

Chapter 22--Unexpected News pt. 2

August 15, 1986- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Albus Dumbledore walked off the swirling staircase and through the door to his office. His mind was pondering what he was going to do about the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. He knew he had someone who was more than willing to take the position, but he refused to use him for two main reasons. First and foremost, Severus needed to stay as far away from the Dark Arts as possible, so that he would not be lured back into it. But that reason was closely seconded by the fact that he lost his DADA professor every year and he couldn't afford to lose Severus. While he ruminated some more about the position, a sudden stoppage in one of the instruments in his office caught his attention. When he went to check which one, he saw that the instrument was the one that had malfunctioned back in November. Dumbledore picked it up to tap it to see if it would start again like it did before. This time, however, the instrument stayed silent. Alarmed, Dumbledore raced to the fireplace, grabbed some floo powder and headed to Privet Drive.

Harper Place, London

Mena Frayne blew the candles out on her birthday cake that Miss Stephens had made for her. She glanced around the room, smiling widely at her friends who were congregated in the snack/ study room of the fourth floor for the birthday celebration. She grinned at her recently turned six-year-old best friend, who was now trying to help Miss Stephens scoop out the ice cream for everyone. He was so busy concentrating on the scoop that he didn't even see her smiling at him. Mena considered herself lucky that her birthday fell in the summer so that she could have ice cream without it being too cold.

She noticed that Miss Stephens kept looking at the doorway as if expecting someone to come in. Mena looked around the room, trying to see if anyone was missing. Fiona and Ivie were playing with some dolls on the floor. Carter, Edward's roommate, Noah, a child who lived on third floor, and Edward were playing cars around the edge of the carpet. Thinking back to Harry's birthday party just a week or so ago, she thought that everyone who attended that party was here. Mena grew angry and sad every time she thought about Harry's party. He'd been more than surprised to have one; Mena herself was shocked when she learned Harry had never had a birthday party before. She didn't know what exactly he had been hoping for; but judging by his crestfallen expression at the end of the party, she knew that it hadn't happened. In fact, her wish today had been for Harry to have whatever it was he had wanted then.

Two adults stepped into the room, each carrying a present. Mena was so lost in her thoughts about Harry's party, that she didn't see the adults until their American accented voices made her look up. Lifting her head, she yelled, "Aunt Honey! Uncle Brian!" She ran across the room and threw herself into Honey's outstretched arms. She never noticed the jealous look that her best friend gave her when she said those four words.

Azkaban

Alice Longbottom held out the parchment that ordered Sirius Black's release to the head Auror on duty. Looking it over, he nodded and let her through. She picked her way through the hallways, briefly glancing into some cells. Seeing some of the criminals that she had helped put away made her heart light, but that quickly changed when she realized that for all the ones that she put in the prison, she had helped keep one in that shouldn't be there. The guilt over her behaviour towards Sirius's situation seemed to deepen every step she took closer to his cell. Glancing in the cell a few down from where she would find Sirius, Alice saw the convicted felon that she was most glad to have taken away from the Wizarding world--Bellatrix Lestrange. Guilt over not being able to find Ginny Weasley combined with the guilt over Sirius and threatened to consume her. Realizing that a dementor was nearby, she mumbled a quick Patronus charm to ward off the chill. Her eagle Patronus soared in front of her, clearing a path.

Holding her wand in front of her, she cast the spell that would release the wards around Sirius's cell. Opening the door, she looked in to find her old friend curled up in a ball in his Animagus form.

"Oh, Sirius, what have I done to you?" she whispered. The dog raised his head at the sound of her whisper and whimpered. Reflecting on what she knew about how Dementors take one's happiest memories, she tried to figure out how to approach Sirius. She shook her head at herself for not thinking of this earlier. Taking a deep breath, Alice said tentatively, "Sirius, it's me, Alice. I'm here to take you home."

The dog whimpered again before turning around with its back to her and lying down. Seeing his ignoring tactics, Alice responded rather forcefully, "Sirius, I need you to change back. Come on, change back for me, please. I've come to get you out of here. But you have to leave here as a man, not a dog."

Looking intently at her with his grey eyes, the dog seemed to sniff the air as if to try and determine if this was a prank of some sorts. Slowly, he transformed back into a man. He looked at her with confusion in his grey eyes. When he spoke, his voice sounded very rusty from disuse.

"Who are you? Why are you here? Have you come to finish Peter's job?"

"Sirius, no." Alice pleaded with her friend. "Don't you recognize me? I'm Alice, Lily's best friend. Your good friend as well. I would never hurt you."

"Hmm. How do I know that you're not just a hallucination brought about by the dementors? You say that you're Alice. Prove it," he responded bitterly.

"How can I prove it?" she wondered to herself. Seeing how very thin and ragged Sirius looked broke her heart as she remembered how very vain he was about his appearance while at Hogwarts. She thought about what kind of thoughts she could use to prove herself. Should she use a Hogwarts memory or one with Lily and James as well as Harry? Slowly, a smile spread across her face. "Okay," she smirked. "I know that at Harry's christening, which only Lily, James, Harry, the priest, you and I attended, Harry peed directly on you. You accused James of charming the stream to hit you square in the face, while he just laughed."

"Sorry, but that still doesn't prove who you are. I don't remember that." Sirius looked at his hands and spread them wide. "The dementors. They suck your happy memories out of you. I learned fairly quickly how to avoid it, but not before losing most of my memories of Harry. After all, he was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"And that is exactly why I know you could never have betrayed Lily and James to Voldemort. I have your release papers, Sirius. You're getting out of here. You can come home with me. Then we can figure out what to do about Harry," Alice replied.

"Release? Wait, what do you mean what to do about Harry? Isn't he with you?" Sirius apparently decided that she was who she said she was.

"No, he's not. I have a lot to tell you, but not here. Let's go to my home." Sirius looked around him almost as if making sure he had everything before bounding up to her and giving her a huge hug.

Alice returned the hug while trying desperately to hide the grimace that over took her face from the smell. "Now let's get you home so you can clean up because I don't think we want to go see Dumbledore with you in this condition."

They walked out of Azkaban and took the boat back to the mainland.

"So, how did you manage to get me out?" Sirius asked soon after the boat left the dock.

"I used my Bones and Longbottom connections. I do have some pretty powerful relations, you know." Alice said off-handedly before turning very solemn. "Listen, Sirius. I'm so sorry that I left you in there as long as I did. There's really no excuse, but I was looking for our godson since Dumbledore won't tell me where he is."

"What do you mean, won't tell you? He has to. The whole reason I went after Peter was I knew that Harry would be in good hands with you. Are you telling me that Dumbledore put him somewhere else?" Sirius looked incredulous at this news.

"Well, in his defense, he didn't know that I was Harry's godmother. He told me that he sent Harry to live with a relative, but we both know that Harry didn't have any living relatives except for that cow, Petunia. So I've spent the last four years using every available resource to try to find Harry. In fact, some of the resources that I've used could cause me to be sent to where we just came from, actually," Alice said.

"Did you try to do a search on his accidental magic? You know his signature already, right?" Sirius questioned.

She looked at him with disdain written all over her face. "Sirius, am I or am I not an Auror? Do you think I don't know how to do my job?" Her anger at the situation and how it made her feel helpless was building inside of her, begging to be released.

"Oh, no." Sirius put his hands out in front of him, trying to appease her, or so it seemed. "I'm sorry for losing my temper. I wasn't questioning your skills, promise. I was simply walking through the steps like Moody taught us."

"Thank you," she said arching her eyebrow to look at him. "After three years of searching and coming up with nothing, I decided that I needed a certain someone with the ability to _sniff_ out more clues."

"Aha. You admit it! You need me. You never could master the Animagus transformation, could you?" Sirius smirked at Alice, reminding her of so many times she saw that smirk at Hogwarts.

"No," she sighed. "I couldn't. As I was already working on getting you out of Azkaban, I figured that I should speed up the process. I'm sorry at how long it took me to get you out. I knew you were innocent the whole time, but I was so focused on finding Harry. So after deciding I needed your help_,_ I went to work full-time on getting you out, which took me almost a year."

"Why so long?" Sirius asked.

"Well, I did just have a baby," Alice responded.

"Really? Another baby. Congratulations," Sirius looked stunned.

"All right. So first, we need to get you cleaned up, then off to Ollivander's to purchase you a new wand. The next stop after that will be Hogwarts," Alice detailed. The boat nudged the dock on the mainland.

Privet Drive, Surrey

Vernon Dursley gripped the hand of his now dead wife between his two meaty ones as tears ran down his face. He looked at her still shrunken form lying on the bed. Taking one hand from hers, he stroked her bare head and down her face. A very hard knot formed inside his belly as he looked over at his son. Dudley appeared to be in a state of shock. Vernon led him out of the room and headed to the living room. As they were coming down the stairs, the front door was blown open. Vernon, seeing an old man holding a stick, knew who and what he was. He smirked as he told Dudley to go to Marge in the living room while he dealt with this rubbish.

"Where is Harry?" the wizard demanded to know.

Gloating for a moment, Vernon just smiled a rather evil grin. "No idea." He thought over what he and Petunia had planned for this very moment. Petunia had known that this freak would come as soon as she died, so she had planned out everything for him.

"What do you mean, no idea? He's supposed to be with Petunia. Now where is she?" the freak demanded.

"My wife is upstairs," at this, Vernon's evil grin slipped. "You see, she died this afternoon." Anger and hatred burned within him. "It's all the fault of that freak you sent to live with us. Because she was exposed to his unnaturalness, she is now dead. Well, let me tell you, when she found out that she was dying, she took him away. I say, good riddance!"

The man stumbled slightly at these words before straightening to his full height, which somehow made him seem even taller than he should. According to Petunia, this should be a blow. But it didn't seem to affect him very much. He prepared to give the freak a bigger blow. "I have no idea where she took that boy. So I guess you'll never find him," the evil smirk was back on his face showing his supreme glee in imparting that knowledge.

At once, the man pointed the stick at him and said, "Legilimens." Memories of Petunia and the last four years flashed through Vernon's mind. He grabbed his head as it seemed to be spinning off his shoulders and crashed down onto the steps of the stairs when all at once the memories stopped. His head throbbed painfully as he squinted up at the freak.

"I see that you are right. Well, this certainly changes things," the man said as he spun out of sight. Vernon vowed that he and Dudley would move within the week just as Petunia had suggested. As he thought of his wife, tears poured down his face.

Hogwarts

Albus Dumbledore trudged up the path from the gates to the front doors. His mind simply refused to comprehend what he had just learned. Harry Potter was not in Surrey. He hadn't been in Surrey since November. Now what is he supposed to do?

When he reached his office, he was startled to find two occupants waiting for him. As he walked in, Alice Longbottom and Sirius Black stood to face him. _What in Merlin's name was he going to tell them?_


	24. Feelings and Memories

A/N: Here's a short chapter, but as I'm basically on bed rest for the next two days, you can expect another update soon. Thanks to all who read and those who review!

Chapter 23-- Feelings and Memories

August 15, 1986- Harper Place, London

Harry Potter stood by the table of food scooping out ice cream into bowls for his best friend Mena's party. He wanted to do whatever it took to make her party enjoyable for her as she had worked so hard to make his first ever birthday party a happy one. Unfortunately Mena hadn't realized that while he was excited about the party, the thing he wanted most was to be part of a family, which meant his aunt to come and take him home. Aunt Petunia had told him that she would come, but it was closing in on a year without a word from her. He didn't know if that meant that she wasn't better or if she didn't want him back. Harry forced that thought from his mind and decided to focus on Mena and making her happy. His best friend had been the only one who could reach through the shroud of loneliness that he wrapped himself with to convince him to have fun. Immensely grateful that he had at least one friend, he knew that he would everything in his power to keep her in his life.

When Mena cried out, he glanced up to see her race across the room. His heart plummeted in his chest. Please don't say that they are taking her away from him was the first thought to run through his head. The second one which immediately followed the first was how incredibly jealous he was that her potentially adoptive aunt and uncle, who were not even related to her really came for her birthday when his couldn't be bothered apparently. Harry retreated to a corner to watch what would happen. His feelings of jealousy and fear overwhelmed all of his other senses. A slight glaze came over his eyes as he stared unseeingly at Mena and her almost relatives.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Sirius Black followed Alice Longbottom up the staircases of Hogwarts to the Headmaster's office. He watched as she threatened the gargoyle with a particular hex, which caused the gargoyle to jump immediately to the side.

As they were riding the spiral staircase to the top, Sirius couldn't resist asking, "Alice, what hex would you have put on the gargoyle? How did you know that it would let us in?"

"Oh, well, the hex is simple. It's one that would turn the gargoyle into sand." She gave Sirius a rather evil grin. "See, I did pick up a few things from you Marauders. I knew it would let us in because I use that threat every year when I come to try to find out about Harry. After all, it only took the first time for the gargoyle to experience that hex for it always let me in." Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

They reached the top of the stairs and Alice waved him back when he started to push his way in. "You don't want to do that yet. Dumbledore normally has wards posted. Let me disarm them." After a couple of waves of her wand, Alice turned to him and said, "After you."

Sirius strode into the room, feeling disappointed when a glance around told him that Dumbledore wasn't there. He really wanted to blast the wizard for not believing in his innocence or at the very least, not making it difficult to imprison him without a trial. He watched Alice poke around the room. Taking another glance around, he spotted his great-whatever Phineas Nigellus' portrait. The man in the portrait was scowling at him as usual. Ever since he was little growing up in the family home, this portrait's other frame had constantly scowled and berated him for conduct unfit for a Black. Just the memory of that house brought up feelings that he could not deal with at the moment. He wished that the dementors had sucked bad memories out of people's heads rather than the good ones.

He settled on a small sofa, crossing one leg over his knee. Why was it that the mere sight of that portrait brought back so many memories? Thinking about it, he realized that he had associated all of his bad ones with Grimmauld Place. Phineas Nigellus was the face of that place to him. Once again he cursed the dementors for only taking the good memories.

The portrait cleared its throat and startled the two occupants of the room.

"I see you are no longer incarcerated. How, pray tell, did you ever get released?" The man in the picture spoke in a rather haughty tone.

Sirius' anger bubbled to the surface, but he focused on fighting against the emotion much like he did while in Azkaban. He had learned to use his volatile emotions as a shield against losing any more good memories. But as it had taken him a while to learn how to do that, he had lost most of his memories of his godson, Harry. The only memory he really had of his godson that was good was the first time he ever held Harry as a baby.

He vaguely heard Alice respond to the portrait.

"I got him out as he was innocent. No thanks to any of your or Sirius' relatives," Alice snapped back.

"What do you mean- no thanks to my relatives?" Sirius asked, his attention now fully on Alice.

"Just that one of the main reasons it took so long to get you out of Azkaban was your mother. She lobbied against my petition to have you released. It wasn't until she died last year that I finally started to make some breakthroughs with some of the Wizengamot members. Finally I got enough of them on my side to have you released," Alice answered.

"Hm... Of course my mother would lobby to keep me in there as I'm not her precious Regulus." Sirius felt his lips form a tight line. He took a deep breath and motioned for Alice to join him on the sofa. "Thank you for fighting for me. I just wish we could find that rat, Peter."

"Don't worry, we'll find him somehow," Alice sat beside him and patted his shoulder. They chatted about plans for Harry and about Alice's family before hearing the staircase moving. As the door opened, they stood to come face-to-face with Professor Dumbledore.

Harper Place, London

To Miss Janet Stephens' eye, once Mena's almost relatives came, things got a little weird at the party. Fiona and Ivie who had been playing quietly on the floor with dolls, became erratic. Fiona started hoarding the dolls as if Ivie would take all of them from her. Ivie, on the other hand, paid no attention to Fiona as she stood up and ran to cling to Miss Stephens' leg, shaking like a leaf. As Janet tried to figure out what was wrong, she reached down and pulled Ivie up into her arms. Settling the small girl on her hip, she started to try to figure out what was going on with Fiona not sharing when she heard an uproar from behind her.

Carter and Edward had started knocking each other's block towers down. They were arguing about whose tower was better. She put Ivie down to try to go stop the two boys before it escalated into fisticuffs. But Ivie plopped down on her foot and wrapped her tiny arms around her leg, refusing to let go. Janet sighed and gently dragged that leg as she went towards the boys.

Talking with the two boys did nothing to calm them down. Janet could feel a headache building in her temples. For a moment, she wished more than anything that she could have been magical like the rest of her family, just so she could have performed some charm to calm her charges down. Pointing to two separate corners, she resolutely sent each boy to one, ignoring the fulminating looks they gave her as they went. Looking down at Noah, she saw that the boy had created an unhappy face with the blocks while Carter and Edward had been fighting. Crouching down and gently pulling Ivie off her leg in the process, she probed both Noah and Ivie as to what was wrong. Neither child could give her a definitive answer.


	25. Confrontations

A/N: This is a little longer. For a little while, Alice, Sirius and Dumbledore stopped talking to me. I think they're mad at me-- Dumbledore for showing him that he's human and Alice and Sirius for not letting them find Harry. Sorry that there's not more Harry/Ginny interaction, but I promise there is more to come in the next chapter!

Chapter 24-- Confrontations

August 15, 1986- Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Albus Dumbledore heaved a huge sigh as he faced the last two people he wanted to see right now in the world. He would even prefer to see his old friend Gellert before seeing them at the moment. His eyes narrowed as he realized that Sirius Black was standing in front of him.

"Well, this is a surprise. Mr. Black, how did you manage to escape Azkaban and make it here to Hogwarts?" Albus questioned. He watched as Sirius calmly looked him right in the eye and pointed to Alice. Seeing anger in the younger wizard's eyes, Albus tried to understand what he was being told as he was still trying to process what he had learned at Privet Drive.

Alice crossed her arms before replying, "He didn't escape. He was released finally with no help from you. Sirius is innocent of the charges that he was imprisoned for, but still you let him go to that horrible place. You know, you are the head of the Wizengamot. Surely you could have done something about giving him a trial."

Sirius finally spoke up at this. His voice, so flat and monotone, scared Albus more than if he had been fully enraged. "I find it hard to imagine that the professor I knew would just allow someone innocent or not to be imprisoned without a trial. I thought he always believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt and allowing our justice system to work. Otherwise, why would he agree to be the head of the Wizengamot?" His eyes hardened. "Instead, I found out the hard way that apparently this was a façade. Just a face presented to the world to hide the true beliefs of their "hero". A man who was willing to look away while someone he should have known would never betray his best friend was incarcerated. You know there really is no excuse that you can come up with for that one." Sirius turned and walked away from him.

As Albus pondered how to try to bridge the gap that seemed insurmountable with one of his former students, Sirius turned back with his eyes flashing. "But besides that, as I can't get back my years that were spent in Azkaban, on to the reason we came. Where's our godson? You can't keep him from us anymore. It's no longer in your hands. If I have to, I will use all of the Black power, influence and money to see that he is placed in our custody. Now where is Harry Potter?" Sirius exuded magical power, but Dumbledore did not survive to be as old as he was to be intimidated by the young upstart as Sirius Black was. Still, he hated telling them the news that he had to impart.

Harper Place, London

Mena Frayne was overjoyed to see her aunt and uncle. Forgetting about everyone else, she raced to them desperate to feel their arms around her.

"Aunt Honey, oh, I didn't think I would ever see you again." Mena's voice was muffled in the long hair of her aunt. As she greeted her uncle, she felt her aunt stiffen behind her. Still in her uncle's arms, she turned around to see her aunt with tears streaming down her face.

"Please, don't leave me. I don't think I could handle it if you left," Honey pleaded. Mena's heart melted at the despair on her aunt's face. She quickly left her uncle to comfort her aunt. The moment she touched her aunt, Honey calmed down and wiped her tears. Mena heard a small growl behind her and turned to see her uncle looking ready to tear her away from Honey. Startled, she let go of her aunt, who immediately rushed over to Brian. Honey pulled her hand back and slapped him.

"How dare you think that you can just waltz in here and find someone else! Let me tell you something, Doctor Brian Belden. No one could ever love you like I do," Honey said forcefully.

Brian, in turn, pulled her into his arms and clung to her. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what I did, but please don't leave me."

Mena looked from one adult to the other. When had she seen emotional displays like this before? She thought about this before looking around the room. She noticed Miss Stephens trying to deal with the other children, but she didn't see the one she was looking for. Spotting him standing in the corner with glazed over eyes, she crossed the room.

"Harry! Harry, snap out of it." Mena grew frustrated with him as he wasn't responding at all to anything she said. She snapped her fingers in front of his face, which caused a flicker. Yet, it wasn't until she let out a sharp whistle that Harry's eyes refocused and a calm came over the room.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Albus Dumbledore looked downcast even while looking Sirius in the eye as he quietly said, "I regret to inform you that Harry is no longer where I placed him." Sirius was stunned and looking at Alice, he was not surprised to see her with her mouth wide open. He couldn't quite decide what to make of this news. Dumbledore continued, "It seems that Petunia took him somewhere last November. I don't know where."

Sirius was still trying to think through what Dumbledore was saying, but it seemed that Alice had no problems figuring out what to say. "Well, why didn't you ask the stupid woman where she took Harry?"

"She died today, Alice," was Dumbledore's response.

Sirius paused at this before remarking, "There's no way to get her memories now, right?" Seeing Dumbledore nod, he continued. "She didn't tell anyone where she took him, did she?" Again, Dumbledore nodded. "I assume you checked her husband's memory in case she did tell him." Another small nod. "Well, then, it seems that Alice was right. You should have _never _placed our godson with that miscreant. It's obvious she planned this. Why would you put him there with that… that …?" He sputtered until Alice supplied the words for him.

"Horse-faced bitch?" Alice smiled sweetly at him.

"What she said." Sirius then turned contemplative. "How do you propose we find Harry then? Petunia, presumably the last one to see him, is dead. Alice has tried to trace his magical signature, but to no avail. Wait, how did you know there was something wrong? Did they send you a death announcement or something?"

Sirius could tell that Dumbledore was uncomfortable by the way his eyes flickered around the room. "Actually I had one of my instruments keeping tabs on the wards at the Dursleys' house. I noticed that its movement had stopped when I entered the room earlier today. I Flooed to the person's house that I had watching Harry and visited with Vernon, Petunia's husband, who could tell me nothing about Harry's whereabouts."

Emotions that had been tucked away during his imprisonment came bubbling to the surface while Sirius was listening to Dumbledore. When Dumbledore got to the part about Flooing to the person who was watching Harry, Sirius just snapped. He spluttered, "Incompetent idiot." He stormed around the room. Feelings of anger, disappointment, and fear were swirling through his body and mind. His magic, unused for so long, broke out from the confinements placed upon it at the prison. Objects levitated into the air, only to fall to the floor and shatter. The occupants of the portraits vacated their frames as they rattled against the walls.

Knowing she had to stop him from hurting any of them, Alice pulled out her wand and shot a quick stunner at Sirius. Making sure to slow his fall with a charm, Alice placed Sirius' body on the sofa before turning to Dumbledore to find out what was going on.

"What was that? Sirius doesn't even have a wand yet. So how did that just happen?" Alice questioned the professor.

"I believe that would be Mr. Black's magic being released from its bindings," he replied.

"Bindings? What bindings?" Alice was thoroughly confused.

"All high level security prisoners in Azkaban have their magic bound in order to help the dementors keep them under control." Alice's eyes widened at this news. "Oh, it doesn't hurt the prisoners or affect their magic, really. It only allows a small portion to be used and that's only if the wizard or witch can do wandless magic. Apparently Mr. Black can."

Not wanting to give away Sirius' secret about his Animagus form, she turned to Sirius and performed the counter charm to wake him up. Watching him as he sat up looking dazed, Alice asked Dumbledore with her back to him, "So where was Harry? And who was supposedly watching him?" She turned around to watch him give his response.

"He was at Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey. Arabella Figg was the one who was watching him. You should remember her. She was a Squib in the Order of the Phoenix," Dumbledore replied, sinking into his chair and looking very tired. She stopped to tuck her wand in her pocket before looking at him fully. Seeing his tired demeanor, Alice really considered for the first time what Dumbledore dealt with every day, having the entire Wizarding World looking to him for answers about everything. While he was obviously a very powerful wizard, he was not infallible like most thought he was or wished he was and that included her. She realized with a start that she had expected him to grasp all the consequences of leaving Harry with Petunia without the benefit of the knowledge and dealings that she herself had had with the awful female. It was a little humbling to realize that she was just as guilty of thinking Dumbledore would understand the necessity of Harry being with her family as Dumbledore was for expecting Petunia to understand why Dumbledore had placed Harry with her. She knew she ought to apologize for her behavior toward him the past few years, but she couldn't seem to get it past her lips. Nodding towards the professor, she walked toward Sirius, who was still trying to get his bearings from the stunner. She placed her hand on his shoulder and pointed with her head toward the door. Sirius gave her a puzzled look, but nodded.

"Professor, we'll be back. You have a lot more explaining to do; but for now, we have a godson to find." Sirius said as Alice essentially dragged him out the door.


	26. Speechless

A/N: Thanks to Jonelle for the title for the chapter and the help in looking over this. Thanks as always to all who read and those who review.

Chapter 25--Speechless

August 15, 1986- Harper Place, London

Mena and Harry made their way through the line in the cafeteria. After they collected their food, they sat at their normal places at the end of the table facing one another. Mena noticed that Harry was still really quiet, even more so than normal. She tried to figure out what was going on with him now that her aunt and uncle had left to return to the States. Thinking back, she knew that he was fine until her relatives arrived. From there, things just got weird. Harry was motionless while everyone else started acting very peculiar, even her aunt and uncle. The only ones not acting strange were Miss Stephens and herself. Looking across the table, her heart melted at the sight of Harry eating almost mechanically. She didn't understand what all was going on, but she knew that seeing her family must have made him upset for some reason. Mena determined that she would find out.

"Harry?" she asked. He looked up at her, his green eyes clouded. "Are you upset with me?"

Before he could answer, Chase interjected, "Oh, trouble in dweebsville? Well, why wouldn't there be? After all, Potter here is afraid to do or say _anything_." He smirked.

Mena stood up and fairly flew to stand between Chase and Harry. She exclaimed, "Funny, I thought you were the one who was scared in the Reptile House, not Harry. What was it you said? Oh, right. Something about the snake biting you. But then how can we expect someone like you to know the difference between a boa constrictor and a poisonous snake?"

Chase looked stumped for a moment, before triumphantly saying, "Well, at least I'm not strange enough to talk to it, unlike others." He gave Harry a knowing look.

"Oh, so you've never talked to an animal before?" Mena questioned with an eyebrow arched.

"I've talked to animals before… in English. I've just never talked to an animal in hisses," Chase leaned in to share with a self-satisfied smirk. He took a step back and crossed his arms, looking like he had won a contest of some sorts. Mena clenched her fists at her sides, struggling to figure out what she could say in response to the older boy. She just wished that Chase would shut up, when Harry spoke.

"Mena? What's he talking about?" She turned to look at Harry, who had an extremely puzzled look on his face.

"Harry, I don't know how to say this if you don't know what he's talking about. Um… when we were at the zoo and you were talking to the snake…" Mena started to explain. Behind her, Chase was trying to talk, but no sound would come out of his mouth. However, neither Harry nor Mena noticed this.

Mena crossed to sit in the chair beside Harry. "Harry, you weren't talking in English when you were talking to the snake."

"What? But I don't know another language. How can I speak in another one without knowing it?"

Mena could tell that Harry was shocked. She had honestly thought Harry knew what had happened. "You spoke in hisses. I have no idea what you said to it or what it said to you for that matter. Don't you remember I asked you about the hissing sounds?"

Harry seemed to think about this before responding very slowly with "Vaguely. It's very confused in my mind. Do you think I could talk to all snakes or just that one?"

"I don't really know. I guess the only way to find out would be to try to talk to another one, but where would we find one? We are in a city, after all," Mena reminded him.

"Well, we'll just have to be on the lookout for one." Harry stopped for a moment, appearing to be thinking over something. "Mena, are your relatives going to take you from the orphanage?" he asked in a very small voice.

"Harry," Mena sighed. "Is that what you were worried about earlier? No, silly. Apparently,- and I don't really understand it all- but since they're not English, they can't adopt me. They just came for a visit. They told me that this was probably the last time I would see them as Aunt Honey is pregnant and it will be harder for them to travel with a baby. But they'll still send cards and letters through post."

She bit the inside of her lip as she considered whether to bring up what had happened earlier at the party. Mena just didn't know how Harry would react. After all, he didn't even seem to realize that anything peculiar had happened, just like everyone else other than Miss Stephens. She cocked her head, thinking about the fact that everyone in the room had started acting unusual, other than Miss Stephens, Harry and her. She decided to hold off on that conversation. She smiled. Soon she had Harry talking about much more light-hearted things and laughing.

Hogsmeade, Scotland

Alice Longbottom hurried after Sirius Black as he strode down the path from the school to Hogsmeade. She stopped to catch her breath as she placed a hand on her side to ease the stitch that had formed in her efforts to keep up with her friend.

"Siri! Sirius! Will you slow down? I'm not as fit as I used to be," Alice tried to stress to her friend, as though he couldn't tell with her panting.

Sirius stopped, looked back at her and gave her a devilish smile. "You never could keep up with the Marauders, could you, Ali? It seemed we were always one step ahead of you and Lily."

"Yes, well, how could we keep up? We didn't have a fancy map like you four," she retorted. "But seriously – and no serious/Sirius jokes- where do you want to start looking for Harry? Do you think we should go to Surrey first?"

"I think that's the best place to look for him. We can talk to Dursley. Maybe he'll know something that he doesn't think relates to Harry that will lead us to him. If there's nothing there, then we can head over to see Arabella." He scratched his head as he thought before talking again. Alice knew whenever Sirius scratched like that, he was thinking some deep thoughts. She was happy to see that she could still read some of his gestures.

"You know, I just can't understand Dumbledore. Why would he leave Harry with Petunia of all people? Especially when he could have easily turned him over to you and Frank?" Sirius stomped over to a tree stump and plopped down. Burying his face in his hands, he continued, "I know that it would have been harder to place him with me as I was too busy trying to find Peter. I was _so_ enraged that he had betrayed James and Lily that I had to find and kill him. I forgot that the last thing you should do when you're upset is try to duel. They'll almost always outwit you." He got a faraway look in his eyes as if he was replaying what he saw.

"I should have known that he would turn into a rat. How ironic is it that his Animagus form fit him so well. He definitely _ratted_ out James." He closed his eyes before looking up at Alice. "That's why I didn't protest too much about being thrown in Azkaban. It was my fault that James and Lily were dead. I convinced them to switch Secretkeepers. Besides, I _was_ planning on killing Peter. I still will if I find him." He shrugged and stood to start walking again.

"Sirius, have you figured out yet that their deaths are not your fault?" Alice hustled to cross in front of the taller wizard to force him to stop and look at her. "But something that is your fault is not thinking about Harry. He needed us and I needed you. I couldn't take on Dumbledore. Plus, I honestly think that he didn't want to chance Harry's survival with the family of the other child that could have been the one prophesied about. After all, who's to say that the Death Eaters wouldn't have come after Neville?" Alice wondered aloud.

"Prophecy? Was Harry prophesied about? Why the hell didn't I know about this? I'm only the godfather, after all." Sirius started to stalk back and forth in front of her, making her slow her steps so she didn't walk all over him.

"The only ones who knew were Lily, James, Frank, Dumbledore and me. Dumbledore swore us to secrecy." Trying to change the subject, Alice went on, "If we're going to Surrey, then we better move as I have to be home soon for Neville and Evan."

Off they went to search for their missing godson, which led to several months worth of looking for some trace to help them find one Harry James Potter.

October 6, 1986- The Strand, London

It seemed like a normal day--getting ready to go to school. They were climbing on the number six bus when out of the window in front of them, Mena and Harry heard a bang. Something flashed by and came screeching to a halt near the Charing Cross station. Looking out the back window while they sat on a bench together, they saw a purple bus that was three story. Mena looked at Harry, who was looking at Mena. As one, they looked back to view the bus once more. Stepping off the bus was a man wearing a shabby cloak that looked as if it had been darned several times. Mena thought it looked like the man didn't have much money, but he carried a trunk off the bus with him. As soon as the trunk landed on the concrete of the sidewalk, the bus let out a loud BANG and was gone. With wide eyes, both Harry and Mena looked at one another, silently asking if the other saw what they saw. They each nodded and just sat in silence until they reached school.


	27. Chess and the Beach

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I updated. I've had some medical problems which made my muse leave for a little while. Hopefully this isn't too bad. Thanks to all who read, but most especially to my beta, Mel, who was just sent this chapter (which means this is not betaed.) Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Nuevo! (I hope I said that right.) Oh, and sorry it's so short.

Chapter 26--Chess and the Beach

December 27, 1986-- The Burrow

Ron Weasley made his way down the stairs from his attic bedroom following the wondrous smells that permeated the air of the Burrow. In his hands he carried the Wizarding chess pieces that he had gotten from his Granddad Septimus for Christmas. Arriving in the kitchen, he had just placed his chessmen to the side when a plate of food drifted to the table to land in front of him. Muttering a thanks to his mum, he dug in. For most of breakfast, he just listened to the chatter and teasing of his older brothers. Only once did he speak up-- to ask his dad to teach him how to play chess. His dad had agreed and told Ron to set up the board after breakfast.

While his dad was finishing up his tea, Ron quickly set up the chess pieces on the board as he had seen his older brother Percy do before. He made his way back to the kitchen to make sure his father remembered. His brothers, he noticed, were nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, Ron. Good. I'm glad you're back in here. I wanted to talk to you away from the pieces first," Arthur stated seeing his youngest son return to the kitchen.

"Away from the pieces? Why, Dad?" Ron wondered.

"Well, you see, the pieces are going to give you advice. Now some of the advice will be the best you could get while others potentially could lead you into a trap. You must remember that the pieces will tell you the best move from their perspective, but only you and your opponent can see the whole board and all the moves. Remember the chess pieces can only see what's in front of them. Now, any questions?"

"I don't think so. At least not yet anyway." Ron said while moving from the kitchen to the sitting room. Arthur and Ron took their places by the board. After Arthur explained how the pieces move, they started a practice game.

It only took his dad about four moves to have him checkmated. Ron wasn't deterred. He wanted to learn how to beat even Percy at this game.

"Dad, how did you do it? I mean, what did I do wrong?" Ron queried.

"Ron, the first and foremost thing to learn about chess is that you must learn to anticipate your opponent's moves. You need to see all the possibilities, all the possible moves. Determine which one they would think would be the best. Once you've learned that, then you can learn how to create a trap for them using their thinking against them. Here let's try again."

This time it took Arthur about five moves. Ron quickly reset the pieces to start again. He was trying to analyze what he was doing wrong, but nothing popped out at him. The pieces were offering him advice, but he didn't know what to take. How on earth was he supposed to be able to anticipate what moves his dad would make?

As Arthur repeatedly beat him, Ron grew more and more frustrated until finally he just stood up, knocking the board over.

"Dad! I don't get it. I don't see how I'm supposed to anticipate what you're going to do. It's not like I can see the future, after all." At this, he began to stumble over his words. "I honestly thought this was something I could do, but I guess not."

Arthur brought Ron to his side and gave him a side hug. Pulling his son around to face him, Arthur waited for Ron to look at him. "You know I don't think I've ever been more proud of you."

Ron interrupted with, "For what, losing?"

Arthur continued gently, "Ron, chess is not a game you learn overnight or even during the course of a day. It, like most everything else in life, takes practice- months, if not years, of it.. At this point, it's not about winning the chess game. It's more about making the game last longer each time, which you were doing. You're making excellent progress, Ron."

"Do you really think so, Dad?" Ron asked rather timidly.

"I don't lie, son. Most especially, I don't lie to my children," Arthur said, beaming at his son.

May 23, 1987--Brighton--Odeon Kingswest

Harry followed Mena and the others of their group as they wove their way through the crowds who were attending the film festival out of the Odeon Kingswest. A feeling of being trapped pervaded him. He looked wildly around. Mena paused behind Miss Stephens and turned around. She placed her hand on Harry's arm. A sense of calm spread throughout his body. He didn't know exactly how she did it, but somehow Mena always made him feel better. It was almost like magic.

The group of left the cinema and strolled across the street to stand on the beach. Harry looked to his left and saw a pier teeming with people. It almost looked too crowded for his tastes, but the smells that were wafting towards him were tempting. Mena tugged on his arm and pointed towards their right. Another pier was over there. This one appeared to be slightly less crowded, but full of people who dressed funny. Most were wearing pointy hats. He looked to where people would be entering the pier from the beach and saw no one.

"Mena? Do you see anyone going on that pier?" Harry asked. He watched her glance that way and scrunch up her forehead in thought.

"No, but the entrance isn't very close to the shore, is it?" Mena responded. "Maybe we can convince Miss Stephens to go to that one." She moved to Miss Stephens' side and tugged on her hand. Harry didn't hear exactly what Mena said, but he did hear Miss Stephens' response.

"Mena, why would you want to go to the closed West Pier for? There's nothing to see there, but a bunch of rundown buildings. The Palace Pier has games and rides that we can all enjoy. Why don't we start heading that way?"

Harry saw the rest of the group starting to head towards the pier on the left when he pulled on Mena's arm stopping her. He looked back over his shoulder at the other pier.

"Mena, isn't it odd that Miss Stephens thinks that pier is closed when we see people on it?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I don't know, Harry. But then no one else saw the bus that appeared out of nowhere or that pub. I don't know why we can see things that others can't." She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't think it's a good idea to tell anyone though. I think we'll get teased worse."

Both of them looked back towards West Pier. As they were looking, a quartet of figures appeared towards the end. Suddenly, Harry felt a weird sensation gathering in his torso before it seemed to arrow out of him towards the quartet. A very tired feeling overcame him, forcing him to sit down on the pebbled beach. Mena also slumped down beside him. He looked over at her.

"What was that?" they said simultaneously.

Brighton--The Gobstone Inn

Ron Weasley plotted his next move on the chessboard that he had set up while waiting for the Lovegoods. They were going to visit the recently renovated Wizarding West Pier of Brighton. It had been bought by some wizards after it was closed in 1975 by the Muggles. After several years of planning, it was finally renovated and opened to the Wizarding public. Ron was looking forward to seeing it as it was reported that there were a variety of simulations that one could participate in, such as the giant Wizard's chess game and the Quidditch fantasy. He just wanted to hop on a broom for that one, but he didn't know whether Luna would be interested in that. As he was here for her birthday, he felt like it would only be fair to do what she wanted.

The Lovegoods entered the room ready to go. Ron looked up to see Mrs. Lovegood wearing a long flowing tie-dye robe while Luna and her dad were wearing more conventional Wizarding robes. He gulped before rising.

"Ronald, we're going to Floo to the pier. That way the Muggles on the beach won't be able to see us. The owners have set up Muggle repellent charms. Then I'll leave you two with Xeno for a little while. I'm going to go visit the Wizarding portion of Black Rock beach. But I'll come back to the pier before you leave. I wouldn't want to stay out in the sun too long, anyway. Okay?" Mrs. Lovegood smiled at him.

Ron just nodded before joining the family at the fireplace. In a flash of green, they flew out of the fireplace at the pier. Ron stood up before looking around. He saw the entrance to the pier a short distance away. Before he could turn to show the Lovegoods, he felt like he was hit in the eyes with a warm spray. Still, the sensation seemed to penetrate through his eyes into his brain, which was overwhelmed by flashes of images. Ron collapsed onto the pier, unable to stop the pictures in his mind.


	28. Another Prophecy?

A?N: How's this for updating? A slightly longer chapter and I added the start of a new story today. :) Please read and review!

Chapter 27--Another Prophecy?

May 23, 1987-- Brighton-- Wizarding West Pier

Pandora Lovegood pulled out her wand and quickly cast an illusion spell, which would make everyone's eyes skip right past the quartet. She slipped down on her knees by Ron's head. She slowly lifted it, taking great care to not bump it as she didn't know what had happened. Pandora was worried about what could have happened to him since she was fairly certain that no spell had been cast. Glancing around, her gaze swept her surroundings, even going to the Muggle beach beyond the pier. She did a double take when a figure on the Muggle beach looked incredibly familiar to her. Could it be her sister was here in Brighton? She thought the probability was far too great. The witch was distracted when a moan crossed the lips of the boy whose head she was cradling in her lap. Looking down, she hoped that he could tell her what had happened.

The Beach

Miss Stephens hurried over to where Harry and Mena were sitting slumped on the beach, leaning against one another.

"Harry, Mena. What happened?" she asked.

Mena straightened up slowly and looked over at Harry, trying to figure out what to say to their floor mother. She didn't think Miss Stephens would understand if she told her that she had felt a weird sensation gather in her tummy , which then seemed to be yanked out of her. Besides, she didn't even understand what had happened.

Mena felt compelled to look over at the pier on the right again. The quartet were no longer visible. She was puzzled over how quickly they must have moved. Hearing Miss Stephens call her, Mena turned back to face them. Harry was now standing beside her, holding out his hand, waiting to help her up. Mena shrugged and grabbed Harry's hand while pushing against the ground with her other. Crossing to Miss Stephens, they rejoined the others and made their way to Palace Pier. Just before they set foot on the Palace Pier, both Mena and Harry looked over at the other pier. Looking at one another, a silent message was sent and received. They would find a way to that other pier.

Wizarding West Pier

Ron opened his eyes to stake stock of his surroundings. His head was no longer swimming with images. That was a good sign. His head was lying in Mrs. Lovegood's lap, so her face was the first thing he saw. On his right was Luna with her eyes wider than normal. On his left Mr. Lovegood was pacing with wand in hand, looking like a sentry at Azkaban. Ron just could not reconcile this picture with what he knew of Mr. Lovegood. He shook his head at the incongruity.

"What…what happened?" Ron asked.

"Well, we were hoping that you could answer that question for us, Ronald," Mrs. Lovegood gently responded. "The only thing we know is that shortly after we arrived, you collapsed back onto the pier when you had just gotten up. No spells were cast, so there are really no clues as to what occurred."

Ron thought for a few moments before speaking very hesitantly. "I felt a huge wave of something--I'm not sure what or even how to describe it--hit me." He thought some more. "I think the force of it--whatever it was--knocked me down."

He didn't bother to mention the images that had started flashing in his mind. After all, he didn't recognize anyone in them in the first place. Ron was sure that even as tolerant and open as the Lovegoods were, that they still would be skeptical of a child who had pictures of people he didn't know enter his mind through means he wasn't sure about. A thought suddenly hit Ron. What if they thought he was possessed and took him to St. Mungo's? He'd never see his parents again. No, he decided, he'd better not tell anyone anything about what had just happened.

Ron slid his head out of Mrs. Lovegood's lap. Bringing himself up to a sitting position, he rested his head on his knees, which he had pulled to his chest. He tried to figure out what he could tell the Lovegoods as he didn't want to insult them as they had kindly brought him with them to celebrate Luna's birthday. Mrs. Lovegood placed a hand on his shoulder and a short scene flashed in front of his eyes.

_Mrs. Lovegood was standing at the counter in her workroom. She appeared to be making notes on how different wand movements affected the outcome of the spells. While she was brandishing her wand, a dark orange light came out the back of her wand, causing her to fall to the ground. Luna, looking a few years older, came running in the room. She bent down to check on her mother and after putting a hand over her mother's mouth to feel for breath, started crying._

Ron started. What was that? He looked around, but everything appeared to be the same as it was before the flash. This time was different than what had happened before and not just because he knew the ones in the flash. With all the time he had spent at the Lovegoods, trying to get away from his twin brothers, he recognized the room well. But what was really different was the fact that the image was focused on one central scene. Before, it seemed like random images that popped up with no sequential order to it at all. He sighed as he knew that he would never reveal what he had just seen. Oh, he could just hear Fred and George now if he told his family. "_Ronnie, he's mental, he is. A sure crackpot._" No, it was better to keep this to himself.

He smiled at the family that had practically adopted him as an older brother to Luna. It made him wonder what life would be like if his younger sister hadn't disappeared. No, it wouldn't do good to go down that road.

Standing up, he dusted himself off.. "Luna, isn't it someone's birthday today? Aren't we supposed to be celebrating?" When Luna nodded, he added. "Well, when what are we waiting for?" With a laugh, Luna slipped her arm through his and away they tromped.

Palace Pier

Harry and Mena meandered around the pier, always remaining within the eyesight of the floor mother as instructed. They used the majority of the allowance they were given on food and drink, but they did play a few games. Most of their time they spent looking at the other pier, wondering why they could see it as a bustling place when no one else seemed to be able to.

Harry was startled when he was pushed from behind suddenly. Bumping into Mena, he grabbed the pier rail to steady the both of them before turning around. Chase stood behind them, smirking. Warning signals echoed in Harry's head. While Harry hadn't lived with his cousin Dudley in two years, he still remembered what normally signaled the start of 'Harry Hunting'--a particular look in Dudley's eyes. Chase's eyes held the same dark, foreboding look.

Harry grabbed Mena's arm and started hustling her away from Chase and the small crowd of boys that had joined him.

"Ow, Harry!" Mena said, pulling her arm out of Harry's bruising grip and rubbing it. "What did you that for?"

Harry stopped for a moment. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the boys following them. The boy grabbed Mena's hand and pulled. "Mena, the way Chase looked was the way my cousin Dudley did right before he would chase me. It wasn't a simple game of Tag that my cousin was playing. Normally he hurt me when his gang caught up with me. I refuse to let that happen to you." Chancing another look over his shoulder, he saw the boys gaining on them. "We must go faster." But as Harry looked up, he saw another group of Chase's followers in front of them. He pulled Mena towards his left, but quickly realized that they were surrounded. Really wishing that there was some way that they could disappear, Harry was shocked when everything suddenly went black. His body felt like it was being dragged through a small tube. When he could finally see again, he felt a hand smack his arm. Turning to his right, he saw Mena leaning against a pier rail looking at what seemed to be Palace Pier. _But wait, if that was Palace Pier, then where were they?_

As much as they had wanted to get to this pier, Harry and Mena were shocked when they just appeared there. For a few moments, they just stared at the other pier as if trying to will themselves back. But nothing happened. They turned to look at what was around them.

There were people dressed in unusual clothes everywhere. Some interesting games and rides were spread out around the pier, which seemed larger than it had looked from the beach. Mena grabbed Harry's hand as if to reassure herself that he was there too. He looked over at her. Her eyes widened before she spoke in a rush. "Harry, Miss Stephens will be beside herself. We've got to get back to the other pier before she discovers that we're not there."

Harry knew she was right. They started to make their way towards land. Occasionally someone would stop them and ask if they needed help. The two would shake their heads quickly and hurry off. Mena was talking rapidly as she was prone to do when she was nervous when Harry felt a boy bump into his shoulder. Harry looked back to see a boy with hair the color of Mena's standing stock still. He started to go back when Mena pulled his arm and pointed towards the beach. Realizing that their time was limited, Harry started to speed up. Mena was still pulling on him when suddenly his vision went black once more. This time when his eyes cleared up, he saw that he and Mena were on the beach facing the pier they had just been on. Looking at it, they wondered how they could have gotten off as there was no connection to the beach. Harry looked very intently at the pier, trying to figure out what was going on. Mena once again, grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him towards the Palace Pier.

Wizarding West Pier

Luna and Ron were heading towards a loo when Ron spotted a food cart across the way. Telling Luna that he would be there waiting for her, he started towards the cart while looking for his money in his pocket. Ron ran into someone's shoulder and another scene flashed before his eyes.

_Ron entered the compartment on a train with his trunk trailing behind him. A dark-haired boy sat across from a brown haired one, with the trunks stowed above them. The brown-haired one jumped up and helped Ron put his trunk up on the rack. Then offering him a hand, he introduced himself as Neville Longbottom. The other boy introduced himself as Neville's godbrother Harry. Ron introduced himself as he sat down beside Neville. The boy named Harry startled when Ron said the name Weasley; but before Ron could ask about it, Neville asked Harry what house he would like to be in._

Ron started again. What was going on with him today? Why did he keep seeing things? He was about ready to go to St. Mungo's on his own, but he knew his family couldn't afford it. Still, he knew that he must keep these visions, if he could call them that, to himself.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Professor McGonagall looked up from her desk in her classroom as her fifth year student Saffron Stephens knocked softly, reporting for her detention. The professor stood up and crossed to the front of her desk as she motioned the girl to her. Her lips thinned out as she faced her errant student.

"Miss Stephens, you will clean up the mess that was created in my classroom yesterday. I will not tolerate foolishness, such as the display you chose to create. Get started." The professor started to turn away when she saw her student's eyes glaze over. Saffron's voice, normally a clear soprano, came out deep and throaty.

"In the presence of the emotions, gifts will be set in motion. Glimpses of the future he'll see, which will be his for eternity. Later, to her, they will impart, a gift to satisfy the heart. The past will be what she sees, which with, their path will ease."

McGonagall grew furious. "What in Merlin's name was that, Miss Stephens? Did one of your fellow Gryffindors dare you to take a potion? Was this the results of a potion gone bad? Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

Saffron blinked her eyes several times before answering in her normal soprano voice, "I'm sorry, professor. I must be sleepier than I thought." She rubbed her forehead. "I was up late revising for my Potions OWL. I'll get started on the cleaning right now."

McGonagall watched the younger witch as she went about rectifying her mistake from yesterday. Nothing the girl did seemed to suggest that she knew what she had said earlier. If the girl had been in Sybill's classroom, then Sybill would be rushing to Albus, spouting about a new prophecy or some such nonsense. She, Minerva McGonagall, was a practical witch. She didn't believe in such poppycock as prophecies, but still…


	29. Another meeting?

A/N: OKay, so I've turned into one of those authors I've always despised- ones who take months between updates. But honestly, RL got in the way. Plus, this other plot bunny popped up and like the Rabbit fascinated Alice in Alice in Wonderland to the point of her following it, so I had to follow this plot bunny. However, I'm back and still have my outline and know where I'm going. The best part is after next week I'm on vacation for a week with nowhere to go, which means lots of writing time. :) I promise it won't be two months before I post my next chapter.

Chapter 28--Another meeting?

May 23, 1987-- Brighton--Palace Pier

Janet Stephens leaned down trying to hear what Chase was telling her over the screams of children on the rides around them. The tall boy facing her was gesturing wildly to an area slightly to his right.

"Mena…Harry… They just vanished! Like magic or something. One minute they were there, but the next they were gone," Chase's forehead was scrunched as if he were trying to figure out a complicated problem.

"What do you mean they were gone? Are you sure that they didn't just duck behind a rubbish bin or something?" she responded calmly, even though she was panicking on the inside. _Did they fall off the pier? _Her eyes wandered to the railing on her right as the boy rushed to reassure her.

"Miss Stephens, I'm telling you they were just right there," he said, pointing to a spot just to his right in the middle of the pier, nowhere near the railing. "Now they're gone. I can't explain it. They were surrounded by me and the rest of my group. There was simply no place for them to hide and nothing to duck behind," Chase pleaded with her.

She narrowed her eyes. Knowing his reputation around the orphanage as a bully, she wouldn't have put it past him and his gang to have threatened Harry and Mena. "What do you mean you had two of my children surrounded? Just what exactly were you planning, Chase Davies?" _Had he done something to them? _She had come across the three of them several times before at the orphanage, but Harry and Mena had always shrugged it off.

"We weren't going to do anything, really. Besides, don't you need to find them?" She could tell he was trying to divert the attention away from himself, but she sighed, realizing that he was right. Janet turned around in a circle, scanning for the telltale messy dark head with a slightly shorter redhead beside it. Seeing nothing, she headed out in the direction that Chase had pointed toward in regards to where they were last.

_H__arry and Mena had disappeared almost like magic, Chase said_. _Could it be? No way._ _But wouldn't their magic have been activated if they felt threatened? But surely if what she was thinking was true, it would only be one of them. What were the chances that both of them would be magical? Pretty slim. Okay, so where could they have gone? _

She tried to remember if one of her sisters had ever 'disappeared' like this growing up. _Magic had been a constant in her house growing up. Well, constant, except by her of course. Saffron never seemed to perform magic like that as far as Janet could remember, but then Saffron was younger than her by several years. Pandora, on the other hand, was only older than her by two years. Her accidental magic had been very volatile while they were growing up. She still didn't remember Pandora ever disappearing like Harry and Mena supposedly did. But then none of them had ever felt threatened by a bully growing up. She herself had never felt threatened, not even when she told her parents that she was changing her name to Janet since apparently she wasn't 'magical' enough for the name Calliope._

Thinking it over, she looked around for someone from the Ministry of Magic. If accidental magic had occurred, then someone would be sent to modify the memories of all those who saw what had happened. But no one dressed unusually was around. She continued looking for her wards.

Spotting a messy dark head on a bench near the railing on the opposite side of the pier from where she talked to Chase, she headed toward it to see if it was her charges. Getting closer, she saw Harry sharing a cotton candy with Mena. Janet smiled at how sweet their friendship was to watch. Deciding not to confront them about the disappearance, she simply watched the two best friends finish their candy and wander the pier, resolving to herself that she would keep an eye out for possible accidental magic from the pair.

May 24, 1987--Brighton Beach

Mena tugged on Harry's hand, trying to pull him down to the water. "Harry," she pleaded with him. "Harry, please. Come in with me. We'll have loads of fun."

"Mena, I'm not going in," Harry replied very frustrated that his best friend wouldn't leave him alone about this decision. "I'm perfectly satisfied by staying on the beach and reading. You go with Fiona or Ivie and play all you want," Harry replied. He refused to get into the reason behind his aversion with Mena. She didn't need to know that Dudley had played a horrible trick on him once during their primary school's swim lessons. Ever since that day, Harry refused to set foot in water more than he had to have for a shower.

"Harry, you can't come to the beach and not go in the water. Come on. At least put your feet in." His best friend turned her best pout with puppy dog eyes toward him.

Harry shook his head vigorously. "No. What part of that word don't you understand? I don't care to put my feet or any other part of my body in the water. Now please let me be."

Mena, with a stubborn look on her face, continued to pull on his hand. Harry tried to dig his feet into the beach, but the pebbles prevented him from getting very far. Mena gave a tug so hard that she stumbled backward into a boy that had been walking with a girl behind her.

Harry threw a hand over his mouth as he struggled to stifle his laughter, knowing his best friend would have his head if he laughed. Mena was sprawled out on top of the boy, who had been pushed to the ground face first. Her face a bright red, Mena tried to clamour to her feet, but the pesky pebbles kept causing her to slip and land back on top of the boy. Finally, getting a handle on his laughter, he reached down to help Mena up.

"Is this what I get for trying to get you to loosen up and have some fun? And don't think that I didn't see you trying hard not to laugh, Mr. Potter," Mena said plaintively. She turned her back on Harry to talk to the other boy, who was just now flipping over to sit up with help from his blonde friend. "I'm so sorry. My best friend here," she elbowed Harry right in the stomach. "was refusing to join me in the water. I was doing my best to convince him that he shouldn't be a stick in the mud as my mum used to say." She plastered a huge grin on her small face. "I'm sorry for ploughing into you."

Harry looked at the red-haired boy sitting on the ground. Tilting his head, Harry pondered the fact that the boy's hair seemed to match Mena's. While Harry had seen others with red hair, none had seemed to be really even close to the colour of Mena's, which had always made her seem even more unique to him. Now he had met someone whose hair was almost an exact match. Harry decided that it didn't lessen Mena's uniqueness to him at all.

He noticed that the boy hadn't responded to Mena yet. He watched the boy shake his head as if to clear it. He smirked at Mena before saying, "I always knew you packed a wallop, but really, Mena. The poor boy looks as if he was knocked over by a lorry."

The boy grabbed the hand of his friend and levered himself up. Harry was a little taken aback by the fact that the boy was taller than both he and Mena since he hadn't seemed anywhere near that tall while on the ground. Yet, strangely Harry didn't feel the least bit scared of him.

"It's okay. I'm used to being bowled over by my brothers, but then they mean to knock me down," the boy quipped while flashing a familiar grin toward Harry and Mena. Harry was again struck by similarities between Mena and the boy. Could it be possible that they were related somehow?

"Ron," the blonde girl said, "I think we better find Mum and Dad. I don't see them anywhere and I'm sure they'll get worried if we don't come back soon. We were only supposed to be looking for sea dragon shells." Harry took that comment as a sign that Ron definitely couldn't be Mena's brother as the blonde girl, who looked slightly familiar to him, seemed to be about Mena's age.

"Sure, Luna, let's go." Turning to Harry and Mena, he said, "Well, I would say nice bumping into you, but then I'm not supposed to lie, according to my mum. Instead, I'll just leave you with a bit of advice--be careful with your prodding. Someone could get hurt."


	30. Uses of a Pensieve

A/N: I don't own any of these characters as I'm not the wonderful J.K. Rowling. Many thanks to jk_salmeier and mhersheybar for all of their help with this story. Not as long of a wait between updates this time. :)

Chapter 29-- Uses of a Pensieve

May 24, 1987- Brighton Beach

"Sure, Luna, let's go." Turning to the girl who had knocked him over, he said, "Well, I would say nice bumping into you, but then I'm not supposed to lie, according to my mum. Instead, I'll just leave you with a bit of advice--be careful with your prodding. Someone could get hurt." As he and Luna started walking away, Ron looked back over his shoulder at the girl who had fallen and inadvertently pushed him to the ground. "Luna, have you ever felt like you should know someone, even if you're positive you've never met them before?" They started to head toward the Wizarding West Pier.

He didn't wait for her reply as his thoughts drifted back to the scene that had flashed before his eyes when he had fallen face first into the pebbles. Ron only wished that there was sound to go with the vision. Maybe then he could figure out what exactly was going on.

_His mum had crossed to the kitchen door to open it._ _A tall, dark-haired woman with square glasses stood in the doorway. Mum had gestured her inside. Behind the woman was a redheaded girl who was apparently very nervous as her fingers were twisting around each other to the point that Ron was sure they would come flying off. The two women crossed to the table to sit with the girl trailing behind them. After drinking her tea, the older woman had spoken to his mum. The girl had fidgeted in her chair, clearly unsure of herself. His mum, hearing the words of the other woman, had flown around the table and gathered the girl in her arms._

Luna's voice penetrated his thoughts when he heard the words, "your sister." Ron looked over at Luna, who was twisting her long blonde hair around her finger.

"What about my sister? She disappeared when I was less than two years old," Ron said sharply.

Luna looked askance at him before replying, "All I said was that the girl back there looked enough like you to be your sister: the same hair colour, the same nose." Laying her hand on Ron's arm to stop their walking, Luna continued quietly, "Ron, I didn't even know you had a sister. Is she older or younger than you?"

"She is younger than me by a little over a year, so she's actually your age. I know her birthday is in August because Mum always gets really down around then. Her name is Ginny and my parents have never really stopped looking for her," Ron replied softly, thinking about how much he knew his parents wanted to see his sister again.

"Do you think that girl could be her?" Luna asked.

"I don't think so," Ron replied. "The boy called her Mena, not Ginny. But she did look to be about the age of Ginny. I'll be sure to mention it to Mum when I get home." Looking back over his shoulder once more, Ron saw that the boy and Mena had already disappeared in the distance.

June 4, 1987--The Burrow

Alice Longbottom Apparated to the outer edges of the Weasley property. Wondering what could have happened that would cause Molly to summon her, Alice made her way to the door of the Burrow. She desperately wanted to return home and curl up in her bed. Saying she was tired was an understatement. The majority of her time lately had been spent either with Frank still searching for Ginny Weasley, Sirius looking for Harry, or with her children, Neville and Evan. If she could, she thought she would go to bed and sleep for about twenty hours straight.

Molly answered the door with a slightly repressed joyful tone. "Come in, come in. How're your boys?"

"They are well, thank you. But I'm sure you didn't ask me to come here today to talk about my family. So what's up?" Alice asked, sitting in one of the chairs at the table. She tucked one foot behind the other as she watched Molly put together a tea tray. Taking in her hostess' appearance, Alice wondered if Ginny hadn't been found.

"Molly," Alice called, only to repeat herself when Molly did not respond. "Has Ginny been found?"

Molly gave a huge smile. Pouring the tea for both Alice and herself, she cleared her throat. "Well, I wouldn't say she's been found, but I think she's been spotted." Molly sat in a chair close to Alice. "Ron, our youngest son, just visited Brighton with the Lovegoods. It was Luna's birthday. Ron told me that he and Luna had run into this girl on the beach, who looked to be about Luna's age and who had the exact same hair colour as he did. Luna had even made the comment that she looked enough like him to be his sister. Ron didn't think it could be though since her name was Mena. He never knew that we had changed Ginny's name to Mena for the orphanage. Oh, Alice, she's in Brighton. Can you and Frank go there and look for her?" Her face was hopeful and excited.

Alice got caught up in Molly's enthusiasm. She could feel her energy levels return as her brain started coming up with things and places for her to check out once she went to Brighton. Nodding her head to Molly, she said, "Absolutely we'll go. Now where exactly in Brighton were they that they saw her?"

"Ron said Brighton Beach was where they were. She was there with a friend, who had dark hair and glasses. Apparently she was trying to convince her friend to go in the water when she knocked Ron to the ground. I know it's not a lot to go on, but you will look, right?"

"You can be sure that we'll go," Alice said. She stopped to think a moment. She hesitated, because she didn't know if she would allow this if someone asked it of one of her children, before asking very tentatively. "Molly, do you know what a Pensieve is?"

"Sure. Professor Dumbledore has one in his office. Why?" Molly asked, pausing her cup of tea at her mouth.

"I would like to do a Memory Retrieval Charm on Ron. That way I could see his memory of what happened in Brighton. You know that your memory can capture so much more than what you actually can tell someone that you remember. That's why the Pensieve is such a valuable tool in looking at memories. This way I can see if there are any details that can help Frank or I find her," Alice explained, still unsure about how Molly would take it.

"What is involved with this charm? You seem like you're worried about something. Is it safe?" Molly asked, worry etched across her face, which had been so joyful earlier.

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you. It would be so much easier if Ron was old enough to have a wand so he could extract the memory himself, but he's not old enough, which makes it harder," Alice sighed.

"How so?" asked Molly.

"Well, there's a greater chance that we will not be able to collect the whole memory. As a seven-year-old, it will be harder to focus on the memory long enough for us to collect it. You see, we don't want to remove the memory completely. We just want to make a copy. His head isn't so full of memories yet that he would need to siphon them off like Professor Dumbledore," Alice explained. Alice could see the wheels turning in Molly's head.

"Wouldn't any amount of the memory help you though? I mean, at least you would be able to see the area and all," Molly thought aloud.

"You're right. It would. That's why I want to try it with Ron if you'll let me." Alice watched Molly think about it a little while before nodding her head. "Great. Now we just need to get Ron in a room with little distraction."

"The best room for that would be his bedroom as it's in the attic. Is it okay if I'm there with him?" Molly requested.

"Absolutely, it's okay. Besides, it will probably make him more at ease to have his mum there," Alice smiled at Molly. After Molly had pointed the way to the Ron's room, Alice made her way up the stairs to the "attic" room. Crossing the threshold, she saw a young boy's room decked in bright orange. Conjuring a small chair beside the bed, she sat, allowing herself time to relax and meditate before attempting the extraction. Alice hadn't wanted to alarm Molly, but sometimes the extraction could result in muddling the memories of the child. She wanted to prevent any possibilities of that happening as she could. Meditation and relaxation were always key whenever dealing with memories of any kind.

Molly entered the room, followed by a reluctant looking Ron who shuffled in before taking a seat on his bed. Alice tilted her head to observe Ron closely. His arms were wrapped tightly around his body and his eyes were firmly pointed at the ground. He seemed to be completely closed to her, which was not a good sign for the extraction. She tried to think of a way to best broach the subject of the memory.

"Hello, Ron. My name is Alice Longbottom. How are you?"

"Fine," Ron responded very curtly. _At least he is responding to my questions,_ she thought. Molly started to make a comment, but Alice shot her a look that stopped Molly in her tracks.

"Well, Ron, I'm an Auror. Do you know what an Auror does?" Alice asked, trying to put the boy at ease.

"You're a Dark wizard catcher," he said.

"That's part of it," Alice agreed. "But another part is that I look for someone who has been lost. I've been looking for your sister for several years now. I heard that you saw someone that looked like you while you were on holiday. Can you tell me about it?"

Ron seemed to lighten up a little at this. "Well, I was in Brighton with a friend of mine, Luna. It was her birthday. We were walking on the beach when this girl ran into me and knocked me down." At this point, he hesitated in his recollection, as if thinking about what had happened. "After we were walking away, Luna made a comment that she looked enough like me to be my sister."

"Ron, have you ever heard of a Pensieve?" Alice asked, her eyes very focused on taking in Ron's body language.

"No. What's that?" Ron asked very guarded.

"It's a device which allows witches and wizards to view their memories, but from a third person perspective," Alice revealed.

Ron's forehead crinkled in thought. "What's third person perspective mean?" he asked, sounding like Nymph with a question about Auror training.

"In other words, Ron, you're able to see things as if you were observing the scene and not a participant. It's not like it shows your thoughts, just what happened."

"Okay. Why are you telling me about what a Pensieve does?" Ron inquired.

Alice looked at Molly, silently asking her to explain what was needed. However, Molly didn't understand the silent plea, so Alice turned back to Ron. "I would like to copy your memory of Brighton to see if I can find any clues about who the girl was and where she was from."

"How can you copy a memory?" Ron asked, very bewildered.

"You will need to focus as much as you can on the memory. Then I will perform a charm to let me see that memory. I will then use my wand to record the memory and store it in this vial," Alice explained, holding up a clear glass vial that she had pulled from her pocket.

"And you'll see _everything_ that I _saw_?" Ron asked, chewing on his lower lip.

"Yes, that way we can see and hear exactly what was said."

He looked rather reluctant at first to let her see the memory, but finally acquiesced to the procedure. After asking him to focus on the memory of the beach that day, she silently thought '_Legilimens_' and placed her wand next to his forehead. Watching the memory play, she recorded it from the time Ron and Luna set foot on the beach to when they were walking away from the two children.

Alice was so caught up in the process of recording the memory that she didn't take time to really watch the memory as she knew that she would have a better view once she put it in her Pensieve. Depositing the silver, shimmery strand that was the memory into the vial, she placed an Unbreakable Charm on it before slipping it back into her pocket.

Rising, she said her goodbyes and rushed home to view the memory. Alice knew that time was of the essence in any investigation. After Apparating to her home, she hurried to the Pensieve that the Longbottoms kept in their home office. Alice fell into the memory and immediately started scanning the beach. She spotted Ron and a blonde girl walking away from her. Hurrying to catch up with them, she continued her search for the red hair that would give away the location of the girl that Ron thought was possibly Ginny. Her eyes alit on a petite redheaded girl who seemed to be pleading with a boy with dark hair. Alice left Ron and the girl she assumed was Luna to get closer to the girl who might be Ginny. The boy had his back to Alice when she heard the girl call him Harry. Not thinking anything of the name, she heard him respond with "Mena, I'm not going in." _Well, the name is right for her to be Ginny Weasley._ Yet, once Alice had crossed to where she could see both children, she froze instantly with her eyes wide. _Oh, Merlin! I've finally found Harry!_


	31. Search Over?

A/N: Another installment. Many thanks to Jonelle for looking this one over. :)

Chapter 30—Search Over?

Alice stopped focusing on what was going on around her and simply soaked in the sight of her godson. Her hand instantly covered her mouth as her breath caught in her chest. His thick black hair sprung every which way, just like his father. It was scary to her how much Harry looked like James. Yet, when she saw his eyes, she took a step back. A sob welled in her throat as she saw the eyes of her best friend gleaming out of her son's face. _Oh, Lily, how I have failed you!_ She wished she could run and hold him in her arms, but she knew this was just a memory.

Alice closed her eyes to try to pull herself together. When she finally opened them again, she saw the memory had ended and she reset it. Going into what Neville called her "Auror mode", this time she focused on the girl who might be Ginny. Her mind started processing certain details about the girl. She had the right first name and her hair was the same shade as Ron's. She watched as the girl backed into Ron, knocking him down.

As quick as a snap of her fingers, everything went black in the memory. Alice startled, wondering what was going on. A few seconds later, everything on the beach snapped back into place around her. Very suspicious, she viewed the rest of the memory. After it finished this time, she popped out of the Pensieve and went to write down things she noticed about the location in the memory.

Deciding that the best course of action would be for her to go through the memory with both Frank and Sirius, she crossed to the fireplace and lit it. Alice grabbed Floo powder from the mantle and threw some in the fire. Calling "Padfoot's Den", she knelt and placed her head into the fire. Alice saw Remus sitting at the kitchen table. "Remus," Alice called. "Is Sirius around?"

Remus lifted his head to look toward the fire. "Yes, Alice. He's in his office, taking care of the finances."

"Could you tell him to Floo to my office in my house in about five minutes? Tell him I have a lead on Harry," Alice smiled. Seeing Remus dart out the kitchen, she pulled her head out of the fire to place a Floo call to Frank at his office at work.

A few minutes later, both men were dusting themselves off from their trip through the Floo.

"Remus said you have a lead on Harry?" Sirius asked Alice while Frank crossed to kiss his wife.

"Whoa. I thought you said you had a lead on Ginny," Frank said. Alice just grinned at the two of them before gesturing to the Pensieve sitting on her desk.

"In here, gentlemen, is a memory from one Ronald Weasley. It occurred at Brighton Beach a little more than a week ago. I think you will find it very…" She stopped for a moment to find the right word. "enlightening. Is that the word I want? Yes, I think it is." She grinned at the two of them as she touched the silvery surface and disappeared.

The two men appeared beside her on the pebble beach. Following her, they walked to where Harry and Ginny were. Alice stood back to watch the expressions on the two men's faces. She figured that since they would have to watch the memory again like she did before, she could just watch them. Frank, as usual, was taking in every little detail of their surroundings and so did not see Harry right away. Sirius, on the other hand, was looking at every person they walked past, looking for Harry.

She knew the moment that his eyes found Harry. His jaw went slack and his eyes widened, making Sirius look as if someone had shot both a Stunner and a Body Bind Curse at him simultaneously. She chuckled. Alice had never seen Sirius without a quick comeback so this was a completely new situation for her to find him in.

"Cat got your tongue, Sirius?" Alice asked, amused at his predicament.

"That's… that's Harry. He looks just like James," Sirius spluttered.

"Yes, all evidence does point to that being our godson," Alice smirked. Alice watched Sirius continue to splutter for a minute before turning to her husband. Wrapping her arms around him from behind and watching over his shoulder, Ron and Luna approached Harry and Ginny. She felt Frank startle when the memory went black.

"Hey, who turned off the lights?" Sirius asked, puzzled. "Weren't the kids on the beach? How did everything go dark?"

"Well, Ginny did fall into Ron, forcing him to go down rather hard. Is it possible that he was knocked out for a minute? Is this what would happen in a memory if the person was unconscious for any reason?" Alice asked as the beach came snapping back into focus.

"Perhaps we should ask Mum about that one," Frank said. "She was an Unspeakable. I think she must have worked with Pensieves at some point. I don't see why she would have given all of us in the family one otherwise."

The memory came to an end. Alice restarted it so they could watch everything again, listening this time for clues.

"There, she called him Harry. So at least we know he's still called that. He likes to read. He got that from Lily," Alice mentioned.

"Well, he didn't get his aversion to water from either Lily or James. Both of them enjoyed swimming and playing in the water," Sirius responded.

"Fiona and Ivy? Definitely need to make note of those names. It could be that they all go to the same school. It's obvious that they are in some sort of Muggle setting. So either they go to the same school or have been adopted by the same family," Frank mused aloud.

The memory went dark once more. Just as it was coming back into focus, they heard the girl Harry called Mena say 'Mr. Potter'. Sirius took a deep breath before gasping, "He goes by Potter still."

"How have we not found him yet?" Alice wondered. "He goes by the same name and yet, we can't find him anywhere. Admittedly, Brighton was next on our list of places to check out. It's in the Southeast Region of England like Surrey. Still, how is it that we haven't been able to find him yet?"

Sirius shrugged. "Maybe we weren't looking in the right spots. It's not like we truly understand the way records are kept in the Muggle world. But," he brightened. "Now we have a lead." With that, the trio popped out of the Pensieve to make their way to Brighton.

August 1987--Brighton Beach

Alice plopped onto a nearby bench, groaning from exhaustion. She slipped her feet out of the black slip-ons she was wearing and rotated her feet, stretching out the muscles. Sirius and Frank stood behind her, hands in the pockets of their khaki pants. No one had seemed to be suspicious of the trio during their travails, but they were still prepared for anything.

"I can't believe there's no record of them anywhere," Alice mumbled. She slipped her feet back into her shoes before dropping her head into her hands. "We've been searching for the past two months and nothing. No school records, no hotel records, no travelling records, no doctor records."

"That last one was a good thing, Alice. You don't want either one of them to be sick, do you?" Frank asked.

"No," she said glumly, "but if it would help us find them, then it would be okay, wouldn't it?"

Sirius let out a bark of laughter at her tone. "Only you, Alice, only you." He scanned the beach and noticed a pier in the distance. "Hey, is that a Wizarding Pier?"

"Yes, Sirius, that's Wizarding West Pier," Alice answered, pulling her head up before allowing her eyes to drift shut and her head to fall back to rest on the bench. The adrenaline that had coursed through her body during their search all over Brighton was slowly dissipating, turning her body to mush. "No, you can NOT go and play. Really, we are here searching for our godson, you know."

Sirius shot Alice a disgusted look that she completely missed as a result of her eyes still being closed. "If Mrs. Big Bad Auror could be bothered with waking up, then maybe she could think about the possibility of what two magical children would do if they could see something that others couldn't. I would be willing to wager several galleons that they found a way to get to that pier."

"Now wait a minute, Sirius…" Frank started before Alice interrupted.

"No, it's okay, Frank. Our tempers are a little short because of the long days we've had. Besides, he's right. We should check it out. See if anyone saw them on the pier, but I don't know if that will help too much unless someone saw them with an adult. It seems like no records are kept of children, just the adults."

The trio visited the pier, but were unable to find anyone who could verify if Harry or Ginny had been there. Totally discouraged by the lack of evidence uncovered, the three of them returned home.


	32. The Search Continues

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Many thanks to Jonelle for serving as a fabulous beta on this and for keeping me focused.

Chapter 31--The Search Continues

August 1987—The Burrow

Molly surreptitiously watched her youngest son set the table for breakfast, moving slowly to avoid touching his brothers. Earlier in the summer despite some apprehensions on her part, Molly had allowed Ron to visit Brighton with Luna Lovegood, the girl who could be considered as living next door. While that visit had brought her some hope in finding her lost daughter, Ginny, it had also seemed to take her son from her. Ron had returned very changed. No longer was he the outgoing, happy-go-lucky child that had left the Burrow that Friday morning. Instead, he was more withdrawn and thoughtful. In fact, he seemed to no longer want to be touched at all. Several times he had flinched away from her hugs. She had tried to draw out what had happened to cause these changes, but nothing she did could get Ron to talk.

Ron carefully threaded his way through his brothers, determined to keep them from touching him even if accidentally while carrying the plates to the table. He really didn't want the plates to come crashing down around his ankles, which was possible if he went into one of his strange delusions. Even though his mum could repair the broken plates with a wave of her wand, Ron didn't want to have to explain what had happened again. It was so hard to lie to his mum, but he just couldn't bring himself to talk to her about everything that had taken place, both in Brighton as well as once he returned home.

After placing the last plate on the table, he turned to find Fred standing directly behind him. Ron's hand brushed against Fred's forearm. Instantly a scene popped into Ron's mind, taking over all of his senses.

_Fred and George chuckled as they untwisted the lid of Bill's shampoo. George then disappeared outside the bathroom door to keep a lookout while Fred slipped a vial out of his pocket. Uncorking it to pour the contents into the shampoo bottle, he then replaced the lid before returning the bottle to the shelf._

As soon as that vision finished, another flashed in front of his eyes.

_Bill had __his wand out, brandishing it in front of the twins. He pointed toward his hair, which was now a glowing neon green. After a wave of his wand, Fred and George were hanging by their ankles in the air. Bill turned to stalk out of the room. _

Ron sat up from where he was lying on the couch in the living room. He glanced from the kitchen to the couch and back, but there were no clues as to how he had gone from the one place to the other. Completely confused on how he had gotten to the couch, he saw his mum come bustling in from the kitchen. The clinking of glasses and utensils alerted him to the fact that breakfast had begun. He grimaced, pondering how he was going to explain what had happened to his mum without somehow ending up in St. Mungo's for hallucinations. Actually, now that he stopped to think about it, what did happen? He knew that he had touched Fred's arm, which in turn led to the strange vision thingy, but he didn't normally see more than one scene. Well, except the first time in Brighton on the pier. Then he saw all these flashes, but none were very clear unlike what he saw today. What was going on with him?

His mum sat down beside him on the couch. He shuffled his body toward the back of the couch, allowing more room for his mum. "Mum, what happened?" Ron asked in quiet desperation, hoping that she knew what was happening to him without any explaining on his part.

Molly studied Ron's unusually pale face before reaching for his hand. Seeing him shift his hands under his body on the couch made Molly want to cry. What had happened to her son? Why did he shrink from every embrace? A horrifying thought entered her mind. Could someone have hurt her baby boy? Could that be why he was recoiling from the slightest touch? The tears that had threatened before shimmered in her eyes.

"Ron," she softly asked, "did anyone hurt you while you were in Brighton?" She observed Ron's reaction carefully, wishing for a way to make sure that he was telling her the truth.

Ron vigorously shook his head. "No, Mum. I wasn't hurt. At least not other than when the girl we think was Ginny knocked me down." His voice sounded a little exasperated to Molly's ear, which made her think he felt that she wasn't asking the right questions. She ran her tongue between her teeth, thinking.

"You do know that you can talk to me about anything, right?" Molly pointedly peered at him. Ron just nodded silently. She thought she heard a slight murmuring from him, but it wasn't anything she could understand.

Wrapping her arms around her son's shoulders, she hugged him with a fierce intensity, overlooking his flinch at the embrace. Molly resolved to talk to Pandora Lovegood as soon as she possibly could to find out what exactly had happened to her son during their trip to Brighton. If someone had hurt her son, well, there would be hell to pay. With tears trickling down her cheeks, she faced the wall behind the couch, unable to see Ron's eyes cloud once more when her fingers drifted down to rub his bare arms.

September 1987—Longbottom Manor

Alice stared unseeingly at the wall map of England in her home office, contemplating where they should search next. She tapped her finger against her cheek, mentally reviewing everywhere she had already searched. So wrapped up her thoughts, she failed to hear Sirius and her husband enter and cross the room.

"Frank, I never realized that Alice could get so entranced by a map. Thank Gryffindor, there's no maps around when she's fighting Dark wizards or she would never survive a duel," Sirius smirked, trying to elicit a response out of her to no avail.

Frank sauntered across the room to come up behind Alice. Reaching out with his left hand, he slipped it in her pocket and pulled out her wand, whispering in her ear, "You're dead, Allie."

Whipping around to face him, Alice automatically reached for her wand, grimacing when Frank merely waved it at her from the spot about ten meters away that he had retreated to once she had become aware of what was going on. Placing her hands on her hips, she called to him.

"Frank Ashton Longbottom! Give me my wand back," Alice's eyes flashed a warning of reprisal to her husband. Hearing a laugh from her right, she swivelled her head to see Sirius holding his side with one hand and covering his mouth with the other. "And just what is so funny, Sirius?"

"The look of fear in Frank's eyes. He's holding your wand _and_ his own, but he's still scared of you. What in Merlin's name happened to the Gryffindor that joined the Auror's ranks?" Sirius struggled to say in between laughs.

"He got his arse kicked in a duel during training, even when he had disarmed me," Alice sneered at Sirius. "You would do well to remember that, Padfoot." Her eyes glinted in amusement over the look of amazement that had crossed Sirius' face for a moment.

"Speaking of training, Moody would have your head if he knew how easily I took your wand from you," Frank warned Alice as he handed her back her wand. "You know his favourite phrase--'Constant Vigilance', he'd be screaming it at you by now."

"I know, I know," Alice muttered as she pocketed her wand before turning back to the map. Scratching at her chin, she barely registered Sirius' comment to Frank.

"Hey, Frank, what do you get when you cross two purebloods together?" Sirius said with a smirk.

Frank looked at Sirius, tucked his tongue in his cheek and responded, "Neville and Evan." Sirius looked shocked that Frank used him as the straight man, instead of the other way around. Alice gave a quiet chuckle before turning back to face the two of them.

"If you're ready to get serious…" Alice said, arms crossed, foot tapping, looking pointedly at the two men.

"Wait, what did I do? Why are you going to get me?" Sirius asked in a playful, mock innocent voice. Alice glared over at him before rolling her eyes exaggeratedly. Heaving a huge sigh, she pointed towards the map.

"I feel like we're missing something," Alice said, puzzled. She couldn't rid herself of the feeling that she was overlooking something important, but she just couldn't figure it out.

"Like what?" Frank said, coming to stand behind Alice and rub her shoulders.

"I don't know. Something. It's like there's something right on the edge of my brain that's desperately important to remember, but I simply can't." Alice let her head hang down while Frank continued the rub being sure to include her neck.

"Let's talk it through. See if that jars anything loose in that overworked head of yours," Sirius suggested.

Thinking the suggestion had merit, even if she wasn't going to say so, Alice sighed before slipping out from under Frank's hands. She always thought better when she was moving around. Rubbing at her head with her right hand as if she could massage the memories out, she started at the beginning. "Okay, well, first since Ginny was the first to disappear that we knew of, Frank and I started to investigate orphanages in the London area as we assumed," she stopped to throw Sirius a glare at what she knew was coming. "Yes, I know what that means, Padfoot."

Starting to walk in circles around the settee that was positioned in front of the map, she continued, "We thought that Ginny must have been moved to an orphanage that was equipped to deal with infants as the one she had previously been at was not, even though there were no moving or transfer papers. Frank and I started our search at the orphanage that Ginny was placed in and widened our search radius from there until we had searched all of Greater London. This took us the better part of three years. At the beginning of 1985…" she broke off when Sirius stood up and blocked her walking path.

"First, sit down! You're making me dizzy from the circles you're walking around me," he narrowed his eyes at that comment and looked like he wished he could rephrase that. "Next, why would it take you three _years_ to search London's orphanages? Surely, there can't be that many."

Frank came over and pulled Alice into his arms before backing his way over to a chair. Seating himself first and then his wife on his lap, he explained to Sirius, "There are a right many, actually. We also checked all the hospitals in the search area. Don't forget we both had full-time jobs, along with the task of raising Neville. Evan came along later. While neither of our children have ever been considered a burden, it did limit our search time."

"In 1985, our search time was further reduced as that was when I started to lobby the Wizengamot for someone's release," she pointedly looked at Sirius before continuing. "For that year and the next until your release, Sirius, from Azkaban, we looked all over the county of Kent, well, when I wasn't having a baby, that is. But we found nothing to suggest that Ginny had ever been in Kent. Frank suggested East Sussex as our next venue to search, but then I finally finagled your release."

"If I hadn't said it before, thank you for that," Sirius said, nodding towards her before turning to the map. "Shortly after my release, we found out about Harry, which led to our search for him." Sirius wiggled his finger back and forth between Alice and himself. "We covered all of the county of Surrey, mainly checking the schools there for Harry. We found records for him at the school where Dudley, his cousin attended, but there was no request for Harry's records made by another school."

"Ah, but we also checked the orphanages in Surrey as well. At the same time, Frank and I also were checking East Sussex for Ginny. There we checked orphanages as well as schools as Ginny should have been in Year One," Alice added, pointing out highlighted areas on the map where their search for Ginny had taken them as well as their search for Harry. "Our last place to check in East Sussex was actually Brighton and strangely enough, something kept coming up, preventing us from checking there."

Frank added, "First, it was a sighting of a Death Eater in full robes walking down Knockturn Alley that had the Ministry calling in all Aurors when we had scheduled time to visit Brighton. Next, I got knocked out, replanting one of my baby Mandrakes." Frank grimaced, remembering what happened. "My Venomous Tentacula pushed my earmuffs off while I was replanting. Guess that's why those two plants are in separate greenhouses at Hogwarts, eh?"

"A few days after Frank's" Alice smirked at Frank, "episode is when Molly contacted me about Ron's sighting. From the viewing of Ron's memory, we learned about Harry and Ginny knowing each other. So the question is—where do we search now?"

"Well, it seems to me like the three of us can combine our searches. I think West Sussex should be next and we continue in our clockwise search. After all, if we find Harry, we find Ginny and vice versa," Frank added.

Looking at the map, Alice pointed to Worthing. "I guess that's next."


	33. Explanations

A/N: Thanks to Jonelle and Mel for being the great beta team they are... A scene with Ron and another with Harry and Ginny (Mena) is in the works, but I thought you should get something to read from me. I'm also working on a one-shot missing moment from HBP.

Chapter 32--Explanations

"Wait," Sirius exclaimed, scowling as he started to pace. "Did you ever try sending them an owl?" _Could it be that simple?_, he thought.

Frank and Alice looked at each other, questioningly. "No," Alice replied. "I don't think so." She stopped for a moment before adding, "But what would we write in the letter that the owl carried? I wouldn't want to frighten Harry."

"Who says there has to be anything in the letter?" Sirius retorted, throwing his hands up. _Really, sometimes Alice seems to live for complicating matters that are really so simple. _"We just address a blank page to Harry Potter so we can follow the owl."

"But wouldn't Dumbledore have tried that already?" Alice wondered, shaking her head, causing her dark hair to cascade around her shoulders.

For a second, Sirius had a vision of dark red hair cascading around another girl's shoulders as the girl refused his best friend yet again.

"We can always ask him," Frank responded with a shrug of his shoulders. He stood up with Alice still in his arms, turned and placed her on the chair before stepping to the fireplace to place a Floo call. Seeing Frank take such good care of Alice caused a bitterness to well up inside of Sirius as he was reminded that his best friend would never be able to show his wife that kind of care again.

While he was talking to the headmaster, Alice continued her musings, which snapped Sirius out of his memories. "Padfoot, how would you plan to follow the owl? You're only a dog. It's not like you're an eagle."

"Oi, I can fly a broomstick. Amazingly enough, I even know a certain spell, which would make me invisible so I wouldn't violate the Statute of Secrecy either," Sirius barked at Alice before flopping on the chair facing her. Sirius couldn't believe that Alice didn't think that he had enough intelligence to be able to follow a bird. After all, she hadn't even thought of trying to send an owl. Alice never gave him any credit, even though he was one-third of the brains behind the Marauders.

Before he could even open his mouth to say something to Alice, green flames shot out of the fireplace before the body of Albus Dumbledore came spinning out. His light blue eyes widened at the sight of Sirius sprawled out in the chair. Sirius smirked, knowing that the headmaster had been avoiding him.

"Well, well, well. Look what the kneazle drug in. If it isn't the genius who lost my godson--" Sirius sneered.

"Don't you mean _our_ godson?" Alice gave Sirius a fulminating look with her arms crossed.

"My apologies, dear Alice. Our godson," Sirius said, his eyes glittering with mischief. He wondered whether Dumbledore would actually admit that he was at fault for the situation involving Harry or would he just try to pass the blame off?

"Sirius, Alice, show a little respect please!" Frank hissed at the two, who in turn threw identical livid looks towards Frank.

"It's quite all right, Frank. They have the right to their opinion about how I handled the situation with Harry. While I feel like I did the best I could with the knowledge I had, I can see why they are upset with me. However, they had more insight in the whole situation than I did," the headmaster soothed. He merely dusted himself off before taking a seat on the settee. Tapping his finger against his chin, he spoke once more. "Sirius, I feel it necessary to apologize. In the frantic pace of the world after the deaths of James and Lily, I felt compelled to rush to judgment so that all of the unpleasantness that was Voldemort would be behind us. Yet, I forgot the very ideals that our side has clung to for so long. I painted you with the same brush as your family, whom I know you would never side with. For that, I know I can never be forgiven. I just ask that you let me join you and Alice in your quest to find Harry."

Sirius could see the earnestness in Dumbledore's eyes. Yet, he found it hard to just put it aside. Years he spent in that horrible dark void known as Azkaban. Years that should have been spent with his godson. And all because one man simply refused to give him a trial. He cocked his head, much like how Padfoot did whenever he heard a sound he hadn't heard before and pinned Dumbledore with a stare. The older wizard continued to look Sirius in the eye, even after quite a bit of time and contemplation by Sirius. Sirius finally nodded his head.

"All right. You're right. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive you for the years that I spent separated from Harry and in that dark soul sucking pit. But I know that the more help we can get to find Harry, the better chance we have of finding him. So… Frank called you about sending an owl to find Harry. Have you tried it?" Sirius asked of the headmaster.

"No, I haven't," Dumbledore started.

"Aha! See, Alice, I am intelligent, after all!" Sirius crowed, jumping off the chair to perform a little dance. Dumbledore chuckled.

"I never said you weren't, Sirius," Alice replied with a soft smile. The headmaster cleared his throat.

"However, there is a reason I never sent an owl to Harry. Quite simply, the owl wouldn't be able to find him," Dumbledore stated matter-of-factly.

"Wait, what?" Sirius asked, slumping back into the chair. Alice looked puzzled, but Frank was the only one who could voice their thoughts.

"What do you mean it wouldn't be able to find him? Magical owls can find anyone," Frank questioned.

"Ah, that's actually not quite accurate. You see, owls track wizards by their magical signature. Their magic is as unique as what Muggles use to identify people—fingerprints, but that's only once the wizard has their wand. Before that time, owls can only be sent to destinations, like when our Muggleborn students send letters home. The owls know the address where they are to deliver their package. So you see, by not knowing Harry's location, the owl simply is unable to find him, since he does not own a wand," Dumbledore explained, stroking his beard.

Sirius looked up at the old wizard, a question burning deep within. "How is it that he hasn't been discovered by the Ministry yet through his accidental magic? Harry was already performing magic when Voldemort came after him."

For the first time in Sirius' recollection, Dumbledore looked uncomfortable. Looking into the fire, he answered Sirius. "When I hid Harry at Petunia's, I wanted to make sure that no one from the Ministry would be able to find him. I wasn't certain that all of Voldemort's followers had been rounded up yet and I refused to take any chances with Harry. I placed a magical shield on Harry."

Alice gasped. "Are you saying that you made it so Harry couldn't do magic?" Her hand was clutching her throat.

"No, no, dear girl. I couldn't deprive a magical child of their magic. That would be like depriving a musical genius of their sense of sound. While it happens accidentally sometimes, it's not something one should ever do deliberately." Dumbledore just shook his head. "Essentially, the shield's like a bubble around Harry. Whenever he does magic, instead of releasing the magical energy to dissipate into the air, which might trigger the alarms for accidental magic and would leave traces that Aurors could track, the shield absorbs it. Once the shield has absorbed all it can hold, it slowly feeds the magical energy back into Harry, building up his magic."

Frank looked pensive, stroking his cheek. "We've recently learned that Harry and Ginny are together. If they aren't living in the same place, then they must at least be attending the same school. But if that's the case, why hasn't Ginny's accidental magic set off the alarms? As the seventh child, she must be magically powerful."

Alice's eyes widened to the point that Sirius thought they would fall out of her face. "You didn't? You couldn't have?" she inquired of Dumbledore. Apparently she saw the answer to her questions on his face. "You put the shield on her as well. That's why we've not been able to find any leads on Harry or Ginny. That's why when we visited Brighton we found no signs of them anywhere. Even if they had produced any accidental magic, we wouldn't have been able to trace it." She looked at Frank and Sirius before adding, "I think our task just got that much harder."


	34. Everything Happens For A Reason

A/N: Thanks to the two most fantabulous betas out there- Mel and Jonelle! Also thanks to all those who review. I make a point to respond to each one as they brighten my day. :)

Chapter 33--"Everything Happens For A Reason"

December 25, 1987-The Burrow

Ron sleepily rubbed his eyes as he made his way down the stairs. This Christmas was off to a most unusual start as he didn't wake up early in an effort to open his presents and scramble down to breakfast first. He simply couldn't believe that no one had woken him up or that his own body had let him down by sleeping late on Christmas no less. Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, he took a moment to realize that instead of being first down the stairs, he was last. Yet, when his eyes registered what was in front of them, he quickly forgot all about his tardiness and the unusualness of this Christmas.

Sitting at the table flipping through pages of a book was his older brother Percy. He was mumbling something about houses and common rooms. Charlie had a book open on the table in front of him, which occasionally was emitting short bursts of fire. _Wait, where have I seen this before?_, Ron thought.

A memory from an incident back in September rose in his mind. Bill and Charlie had been leaving on the Hogwarts Express when Charlie had jokingly put his arm around Ron's shoulders. The brush of Charlie's fingers against the skin just below the sleeve of Ron's shirt had Ron seeing something other than the scarlet steam engine in front of him.

_The Christmas tree was sparkling a multitude of colours onto the floor of the kitchen through the doorway to the sitting room, creating a beautiful mosaic. Percy was sitting at the kitchen table, flipping through the pages of a book. Short bursts of fire was pluming up into the air from the book open in front of Charlie. Ron's mum was at the stove, frying up a small breakfast, even as she was starting on her preparations for Christmas dinner._

Ron jolted himself out of the recollection just in time to see his mum, scooping up potatoes for the bangers and mash breakfast that they traditionally had on Christmas. His brothers absentmindedly thanked their mum for the breakfast before returning to their respective books. Even as he heard the door open, Ron knew without looking that it would be his twin brothers walking through the door.

_Fred and George each held a broom in their hands as they came through the back door. Their faces, reddened by the wind, held such a look of joy that can only come from experiencing something one never imagined. After placing their broomsticks beside the door, the two boys rushed to grab their mother and putting her between them, swung her round and round the room._

Hearing his mother chuckle at his twin brothers' antics, Ron quickly took a step to the right so that his body would be in front of a cupboard rather than the stairs. A second later, Bill came barrelling down into the kitchen from the stairs with his head down looking at a book he was holding in his left hand while his right hand twirled his wand, presumably trying to copy the motions from the book. In his mind's eye, Ron saw a different scene.

_Bill had __come barrelling down the stairs, not paying attention to where he was walking. Ron, who was watching everything from in front of the stairs, was sent crashing into the kitchen table. Bangers and mash were now taking up residence in Ron's hair as they had been sent flying up and off the table in the crash. His twin brothers were hugging their sides from the laughter that spilt out over the room. _

He froze in shock when he realized what really had just occurred. "But that's not possible!" Ron muttered. His mum, who had just been released by the twins from their reckless twirling, was standing next to him, trying to catch her breath.

"What's not possible, Ronnie?" Molly asked. He froze, hoping that his mum really hadn't heard him or would drop it. Ron didn't really fancy a trip to St. Mungo's on Christmas Day. His mum continued. "You know, I imagine that Muggles think that lots of things are impossible that we know are not. And really, what is impossible in the world of magic? We thought for a while that it was impossible to survive the Killing Curse and yet you've even seen up close someone who's survived it." His mum looked at him and tilted her head to one side. "Most people would say that it was impossible that you saw your sister in Brighton. What are the chances that you would see her there? Maybe that's why I believe that nothing is impossible and that everything happens for a reason."

"Everything happens for a reason?" Ron parroted back to her.

"Do you think it was merely chance that led you to your sister? No, there was a reason that you saw her. If for no other than to give me hope once more that I shall see her again."

Ron looked over at his brothers that were gathered around the table. Some were reading, others were joking around. "So why then, Mum, was Ginny taken from us if everything happens for a reason?"

"Because, Ron, apparently, someone needed her more."

Harper Place

An abundance of food lined the table in front of Harry and Mena. It was one of the most festive days of the year at the orphanage, but both Harry and Mena's faces were solemn.

"I'm so sorry that I couldn't get you a present, Mena," Harry said, looking at his plate.

"I couldn't get you one either, you know," Mena responded, nudging him with her shoulder until he looked at her. "Besides, your presence is enough of a present for me." Mena caught his gaze with a small smile. The smile slipped off her face when her thoughts returned to where they had been dwelling the past few hours. "Harry." She bit her lip in hesitation. "Do you ever think about your family?" she asked quietly.

"Sometimes. I wonder if Aunt Petunia is better, if Dudley has changed at all." Harry shrugged. "What about you?"

"I think… I think I'm starting to forget them." Mena silently started to cry. "I can't see their faces anymore. I just remember that Dad had red hair like me and Mum had blue eyes. What am I supposed to do?"

Harry slipped an arm around her. "You hold on tight to what you do remember. It doesn't matter if the picture isn't clear. As long as you remember the happiness you had, that's all that really matters." Harry could hear himself saying the words, but had no clue where they came from. But as he thought about them, he realized how true it was. He didn't really remember anything about his parents; yet, he was sure that they were very happy. It was this feeling that had fuelled his desire to fit in with his aunt and uncle. He wondered if they were ever going to come back for him. A wave of melancholy spread through him until Mena grabbed his hand.

"We'll always be each other's family, right? Nothing can separate us," Mena declared firmly.

Harry smiled and nodded before adding, "And we'll always be together on Christmas."

The Burrow

"But, Mum," Ron protested, "how can anyone need Ginny more than us? I mean, she's my little sister, the only one I've got."

Not wanting her older boys to hear this discussion, Molly ushered Ron into the sitting room where Arthur sat studying a model of an aeroplane that he had gotten from Bill for Christmas. Giving Arthur a look and gesturing with her head toward the kitchen, she and Ron took a seat on the settee. Nodding in response, Arthur slipped out of the room and into the kitchen. _Good, now maybe I'll find out some answers._ Molly had been trying to find a way to talk to her youngest son for days now. She wanted to find out what exactly had happened in Brighton. Her talk with Pandora had yielded very little insight, other than it alleviated her fears about someone hurting Ron.

"By saying she's the only one you've got, are you implying that she's your only sister or your only younger sibling?" Molly asked, her eyebrows raised, showing her son that he better not lie to her.

"Well, she is the only sister I've got," Ron replied slightly belligerently.

"Don't you mean," Molly smiled gently, "she's the only one you could pick on like your brothers pick on you? Plus, if she was here, you two could go up against the twins together, right?"

Ron's face went slack when he heard these words. "Are you a mind reader, Mum?"

"Well…" seeing his face blanch, she laughed. "No, Ron, it's just I had siblings too, you know. Your uncles Fabian and Gideon used to pick on your Aunt Nell and me. One of the reasons she and I are so close is because of all the things we had to do together to keep our brothers at bay." For a minute, she got lost in the memories of her two older brothers who had died in the war. Reluctant to let go but knowing she needed to, she turned back to Ron. "But Ron do you remember who Ginny was with when you saw her in Brighton?"

"Well, Mrs. Longbottom said it was Harry Potter," Ron replied.

"And thinking back to when you saw them, didn't you say that they seemed to be best friends? Knowing what you do of Harry Potter's story, don't you think _he_ might have needed her more? After all, you do have five brothers. He has no one," Molly questioned him gently. She didn't want Ron to feel like she was telling him that he was wrong in wanting his sister, because he wasn't. She longed for her little girl. Yet, something deep inside her told her not to worry now that she knew her daughter was safe. Ginny would return to her when the time was right.

Ron seemed to be thinking about what she said . Knowing that her son often needed additional time to process new ideas and simply think before talking--one of the things that made him such a good chess player--she was content to wait and let her eyes drift around the room. A peace settled over her when she gazed at the Christmas tree all aglow. Making her traditional Christmas wish on the tree, Molly's eyes next viewed the mantel by their fireplace. Thankful that it was large enough that she could still decorate it and be able to Floo, she smiled at the stockings that had been returned to their spots once the children had emptied them. Finally she heard her son starting to clear his throat.

"Mum, going back to what you said before about everything happening for a reason, do you really believe that?" Ron asked in a very small voice.

"Of course I do. The older I get, the more I'm convinced that everything—good or bad—that happens to us is to prepare us for something in our future. Our magic is incredibly clever at that or so it seems." Her memories of her brothers came to the forefront of her mind. Her sister's gift of dreams had not given them time to say goodbye, but it had helped deal with the grief. This experience in turn had helped her cope with the loss of her daughter.

"Mum… can I tell you something?" Ron asked in that same small voice.

"Ron, you can tell me anything. You know that, right?" Molly asked, hugging her son to her side. He nodded and looked up at her. She realized then that it wouldn't be too terribly long before he was taller than her. Ron, she suspected, was going to be the tallest of her children.

"Well… um…" Ron stopped and took a huge breath. Closing his eyes, he continued, "In Brighton, something happened. Oh, Mum, please don't send me to St. Mungo's, please!"

Ron's words seemed to melt together he said them so fast. It took her a moment to figure out what exactly he had said, which left her totally perplexed. She had been thrilled that Ron finally felt comfortable enough to tell what was wrong, but now he's anxious that she would send him to St. Mungo's? She shook her head before asking her son, "Why would I send you to St. Mungo's, sweetheart? Are you sick?"

Refusing to look at her, Ron answered, "Because I see things that aren't there."


	35. Outside Looking In

A/N: Many thanks to my betas, Jonelle and Mel! Thanks for reading and reviewing. Another author's note at the end.

Chapter 34—Outside Looking In

December 25, 1987-The Burrow

"What do you mean you see things that aren't there?" Ron's mum looked puzzled.

"Since I went to Brighton with Luna, I've been having these strange things happen to me," Ron replied, wondering if he was doing the right thing by telling his mum.

"What happened in Brighton?" Molly asked.

Ron thought back. "We had just arrived at the Wizarding West Pier. The Lovegoods and I had travelled via Floo. Almost as soon as I set foot on the pier, it felt like something pierced my eyes. Once the pain was gone, all of these images flashed in front of my eyes. Some were of people I had never seen before. Some were of the family and even of the Lovegoods."

"Why didn't you tell someone?" his mum asked.

Ron ran his fingers through his hair, trying to come up with an explanation. Rubbing his eyes, the source of the whole mess to him, he crafted a response. "I was scared that you would send me to St. Mungo's," he admitted. "I know you told me that I could always tell you anything. But, Mum, I think I must be crazy."

"Why?" Molly prodded him. "Does this have anything to do with what you thought wasn't possible?"

"Kinda. Back when Bill and Charlie left for Hogwarts, I got this thing, vision, image, whatever you want to call it of what happened in the kitchen this morning."

Ron's mum got this far-off look in her eyes. Ron thought she was thinking about something. Blinking her eyes rapidly, she turned to Ron. "Are you saying that you knew exactly what was going to happen in the kitchen this morning?"

"Yes," Ron replied before biting his upper lip. He continued to worry at it while Molly had a smile on her face that spread from ear to ear.

"It must be the Prewett gift."

"Prewett gift?" Ron parroted.

"Yes, your Aunt Nell also has the Prewett gift. It comes in many different forms. Aunt Nell has dreams about our family, which allows her to see what happened that day or will happen the next day." Her voice broke. She shuddered before continuing, "It's how we found out about your uncles Fabian and Gideon. She had a dream about them the night it happened."

"But what causes her dreams to happen? Does it just interrupt her current dream or what?" Ron demanded to know, desperate to understand this so-called "gift".

"I don't know, Ron. You'll have to ask her. I do know that my mother also had the gift, but hers was very different. She could touch people and see glimpses of their past, like little scenes playing out before her eyes."

"That's what mine is like, I think, except I see the future? Is that even possible, Mum?" Ron asked.

"With magic, almost anything is possible. Now this vision you had of this morning, did everything happen exactly the way it did in the vision?"

"No, in the vision, Bill knocked me down when he came down the stairs. But I stepped in front of the cabinet so I wouldn't get hit."

"Ah, so that was the reason. Remember how I said everything happens for a reason. Apparently the reason for your gift is so you can prevent certain things from happening."

"Mum, I had a vision- is that what I should call it?" Ron looked toward his mum. Seeing her nod, he continued, "Back in Brighton about Luna's mum. I think she got hurt or something. You said I got this gift for a reason, but how am I supposed to stop something when I don't know when it will happen, especially if I'm not even there?"

Molly grabbed Ron's chin and forced him to look at her. His eyes now had a thin ring of blue surrounding a dark black centre. She knew instinctively that his gift had been activated, but what would he see this time?

* * *

May 1988 --London

The sun had not made an appearance in several days, causing Harry to revel in its warmth while he waited for Mena outside the front doors to the school. It was lunchtime and their tradition was to always return to the orphanage for lunch. At first, it had started because neither Mena nor Harry wanted to deal with Chase during lunch. Since he typically stayed at school, Harry and Mena decided to catch the bus back to the orphanage. Later, however, it was simply a way for them to be able to spend time together. So, as usual, Harry was waiting while Mena talked to one of her many numerous friends. Harry hadn't made many friends at school since he was very shy. In fact, he didn't talk very much at school. Mena, on the other hand, could be considered a social butterfly. She had friends in all years.

Mena burst out the door, looking much like a ray of sunshine. She skipped happily over to Harry, grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bus stop. Chatting away about everything she had learned that morning, Harry just listened to his best friend and her enthusiasm. He was rather astonished that she didn't exhaust him with all of her stories, but he had to admit that he loved listening to her. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even realize that they had made it to their stop until Mena tugged on his hand.

Once inside the building, Mena continued to make her way to the cafeteria while Harry ran up to his room for a book he needed to return to the school library that he had forgotten that morning. As he passed his floor mother's room, he saw Miss Stephens standing next to the open window. _Must be taking in the sun,_ he thought. He dimly registered her arm stretched out the window and a big brown bird landing on it.

_Whoa, wait just a minute! Did I see what I thought I saw?_ Harry backed up and looked into Miss Stephens' room. Yes, she was standing at the window. Her arm was not longer stretched out the window. Instead, she had pulled it close to her, but there was a large brown owl standing tamely on her arm. Her other hand was gently stroking its feathers before reaching down to take something off of its leg. It looked like a rolled up piece of paper, except that it appeared thicker than the paper he used for school. Once the owl was relieved of its burden, it flew out the window, causing Miss Stephens to exclaim, "Well, I guess they aren't expecting a response."

After he saw Miss Stephens unroll whatever it was that was in her hand, he went to his room puzzling over what he had seen. Last year in school, he had written a report about owls, so he wondered how it was that the owl was out in the daytime. According to one source he read, the owl's eye colour gave a clue about the time of day that it hunted. The owl that had landed on Miss Stephens' arm had dark brown eyes, which should have meant that it hunted at night. Still, how was it that the owl was so tame that it landed on her arm without hurting her with its talons?

* * *

September 1988--British Museum

A young brown haired girl trailed along behind the rest of her school group, looking at the sculptures from the Parthenon. She longed to run her hand over the muzzle of the horse that looked so realistic. Instead, she sighed, knowing that touching any item in the museum was grounds for expulsion from the museum. Since the girl had been looking forward to this visit for some time, she was reluctant to do anything to jeopardize her getting to see the library part of the museum. She had heard that this library was larger than the Bodleian Library at Oxford, which she loved to venture into just to absorb the smell of the books and manuscripts. In her idea of heaven, a library was almost always a main feature.

Glancing at her school group, she wondered if she should really try to catch up or not. It wasn't like anyone would even notice if she wasn't a part of the group. She might as well be invisible for all the attention she received outside of the classroom. Even in the classroom, she was only remarked upon because of her answers to the teacher's questions.

She decided to trail along with the group since she didn't know how she would make it back to Oxford if she didn't. Yet, it wasn't long until she overheard some of the other girls in her group talking about her.

"Look at that Granger girl. Wouldn't you think that she could do something about that hair? She's oh so smart about everything else in class," one girl commented.

"She can't really be that smart. After all, she hardly talks other than to answer the teacher. I don't think she has any friends whatsoever," another girl responded.

One of the others in the group looked over at Hermione and scoffed, "Look at her clothes. You would think with her parents being dentists that they could afford more fashionable clothes, but it looks like she got all hers from the Oxfam charity shop."

With that, the girls' attention snapped to the sculptures from the Mausoleum at Halikarnassos that they were now supposed to be viewing when they caught sight of their teacher looking at them very disapprovingly.

Hermione continued to slowly walk behind the group, her mind lost in thoughts of what she had overheard. With tears gathering in her eyes, she wondered why she never felt like she fit in anywhere. She was always on the outside of the group looking in. Never once was she a part of the group. She wished more than anything that she could find some friends who she could be herself with and who would understand that weird things happened around her and still like her anyway.

As she walked through the doorway leading to the world of Alexander room in the museum, her hands felt as if nails had been driven through them. The feeling of the nails disappeared only to be replaced by the sensation of an electric current travelling up her arms and into her chest. Hermione made her way to the nearest bench to catch her breath. It was such a strange feeling.

Resting her hands on the wooden bench, everything around her stopped before going in reverse, like what happened when her mum hit rewind on the VCR while the picture was still on the screen. Throwing her hands over her mouth, people, including her school group and another, started to mill around the room again. _What on Earth just happened?_ was the thought that repeated through her mind.

A/N2: As for the second scene, I know some may be shocked that I have students leaving school for lunch, but I spent a semester in London with a practicuum in a primary school in Walthamstowe. At this school, students were allowed to go home for lunch, which is what I based this on.


	36. Meetings

A/N: Sorry this has taken so long, but a bout of pink eye didn't help whatsoever. The next chapter is almost complete. I actually had wanted to include it with this one, but decided to go ahead and post something for you all. Just beware that this hasn't been completely beta-ed and is subject to change. That's what happens when the beta goes on vacation. :(

Chapter 35—Meetings

September 1988- British Museum

Mena trailed along behind her best friend, who was totally engrossed in looking at all the artefacts that were part of the world of Alexander room. She looked from one side of the room to the other and rolled her eyes. These museum trips were boring.

Eyes lighting up with mischief, she decided to have a bit of fun. Mena began making faces at Harry to see if he would notice, feeling sure that he was too caught up in his own little world.

After a few minutes, she heard Harry's voice. "You wouldn't want your face to freeze like that, you know," Harry remarked with a smirk when he caught Mena with her eyes crossed and tongue hanging out the side of her mouth.

Mena let out an exasperated sigh before throwing her hands up in the air. "How do you do that? There's no way you could have seen me. Your back was to me the whole time."

"What can I say, Mena? I guess I have a sixth sense when it comes to you and catching you at your silliest," Harry teased.

"What—" Mena started to respond before cutting off sharply when she felt something like an electric current running up her legs and arms into her chest before leaving her body in a rush. An extreme wave of fatigue swept over her, causing her to find the closest bench on which to sit. _What was going on? _Taking several deep breaths to calm her shaking body, she lifted her eyes to try to find Harry as she couldn't help but think of what had happened in Brighton last year. This had the exact same feel to her as what had happened there. The same rush of something to exit her, breathlessness and exhaustion. She wondered what could have caused it.

Thinking about Brighton reminded Mena of the two unusual children they had met. Harry had mentioned that he thought that she might be related somehow to the boy as they had similar smiles. Mena had just rolled her eyes at Harry, even though his idea was still something she wondered about from time to time. Still, the sensation that swept over her today was similar to the one in Brighton, but there was nothing here that would seem to trigger it. She reasoned she hadn't seen anything on the beach to trigger it either.

Harry, she discovered, was sitting on yet another bench that was along an adjacent wall in the exhibit room. He looked as if he had had to run to get away from Chase and the other bullies at school again, which led her to believe that Harry also was feeling exhausted by something. Somewhat reassured by the knowledge that Harry had experienced something similar, Mena continued looking around the room filled with exotic treasures from the time of Alexander the Great, indulging in one of her favourite pastimes—people watching. While the room was one of the smaller of the exhibit rooms, it still could fit almost two full floors of Harper Place within its walls and lofty ceiling. A group of girls were huddled in one corner, obviously talking about things other than the museum's offerings. Her gaze swept around to the other bench in the room. A girl with bushy brown hair was sitting with her hands resting on either side of her. The girl appeared to be frozen. Mena wondered what had happened to the girl to make her freeze like that. Was it out of fear or had something else happened to her? Could she have also been affected by the strange sensation earlier? Mena felt compelled to find out. Watching her for a few minutes more, Mena was surprised to see the girl throw her hands over her mouth.

She stood up, pausing for a moment to check her body's responses after the tiredness that swept over her earlier. Judging that her body could handle movement now, she stood and crossed to the girl, who had once again laid her hands on the bench beside her. Laying a hand on the girl's shoulder, she leaned forward so that she could see the girl's eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Okay, that's weird. It happened the exact same way as before. The dark haired boy and you didn't move like everyone else did. What is going on?" the girl said mostly to herself, even though she was sort of answering Mena. She shook her head before looking up at Mena. "Did you ask me something?"

Mena smiled. "I asked, are you okay?"

"I'm… I'm not sure how I am. Something strange just happened," the girl responded, rubbing her forehead with her left hand before lifting her eyes up again to look at Mena. "I'll be fine." The girl smiled at Mena. "I'm sure you must have better things to do than ask me how I am."

"Not really," Mena answered. "I'm not that into this type of museum. It's so boring. I'm just here with my best friend since his class came here on a field trip today."

"Wait, I'm confused. So it's not your class that came, but your best friend's and yet, you were allowed to come?" the girl asked.

Mena grinned. "I'm pretty persuasive when I want to be. At least that's what I've been told. Miss Stephens says that I can charm fairies from the trees if I put my mind to it."

"Wow, I'm shocked. My teachers would never have allowed someone who wasn't in our class to join our group," she responded.

Mena grinned again. "My name is Mena. What's yours? Do you live around here?"

"My name is Hermione. I'm from Oxford. I'm here with my school as well." Mena noticed that Hermione seemed uneasy as if she wasn't completely comfortable talking with a stranger like Mena was. Taking Hermione's arm, Mena pointed out Harry.

"That's my best friend Harry. He and I live at Harper Place here in London. Look at him. He's so enthralled with the exhibits here. I so don't understand the fascination myself. I mean, how many eight year olds do you know that love to tour museums?" Mena whispered to Hermione, not wanting to take the chance that Harry could hear her since he had already proven to her once that he could see her even when he wasn't looking at her.

"Well, I'm eight and I love looking at museums like this. Not particularly this type of room, but the library they have here is supposed to rival the one at Oxford. I just love libraries." Hermione gushed. Mena just looked at the girl and smiled when she noticed the sparkle that was in Hermione's eye when she talked about books.

"Books are okay, I guess. I prefer talking to people and learning their stories more than reading about them, but books can be a good escape at times," Mena responded. She looked around the room and felt her eyes go wide. "Hermione, didn't you say that you were here with your class?" Mena was worried when she no longer saw any school age children in the room. She knew Harry would come back to find her so she wasn't worried for herself, but Hermione didn't seem to have any friends in her group. Mena wondered if Harry had seen which direction Hermione's class had gone.

Turning to her new friend, Mena asked, "Do you know which way your class would have gone? Is there a set tour the group was taking?"

"I think so. Honestly, I don't care," Hermione responded. "It's not like anyone would notice if I wasn't there."

"Still, you need to be able to get home. Here let's go looking for them." With that, she grabbed Hermione's hand and dragged her through the people in the room and the next doorway. They sped past the Greek and Roman sculptures once Mena took a good look around, not seeing anyone who looked familiar from her people watching earlier. She took a moment to ask Hermione if she had already seen the Nereid Monument room before leading the older girl into the Nimrud room. Still, not seeing anyone recognizable, Mena mentally tossed a coin and decided to go left into the Nineveh room. She gave a huge sigh of relief when she saw the girls from earlier.

Turning to Hermione, she asked "Are those girls in your class?"

Hermione grimaced before answering, "Unfortunately. They aren't the nicest around."

"I could tell that by the way they held themselves," Mena responded. "Listen, I have to go find Harry and my group. But first, Hermione of Oxford, what's your last name? Is there any way we can keep in touch with each other?"

"Granger is my last name. What's yours? You said you and Harry live at Harper Place, right?" Hermione said in a rush.

"My last name is Frayne. F-R-A-Y-N-E. Oh, no, your group's leaving again. You better hurry. It's been nice meeting you. Please contact me somehow," Mena said, biting her lower lip and looking pleadingly at Hermione.

"I will. Thanks, Mena." Hermione waved before heaving a huge breath and rejoining her class. Mena watched her for a few seconds, noting that not a single person said anything to Hermione. Wishing the older girl were in Harry's class, Mena hurried back the way she had come, winding through the adults in her path. Crossing the threshold to the room with the Parthenon sculptures, she spotted a head full of messy dark hair. She placed her finger against her lips, contemplating what she could do to pay her best friend back for leaving her behind in the room. Grinning, she stealthily moved around the room to put her plan into motion.


	37. Clarifying Gifts

A/N: So how is this for a fairly quick update? *grin* Many thanks to Jonelle for being a fabulous beta. I can't believe it was one year ago that I started posting this story. Wow. Thanks to all who read and to all who review. I do answer every review or at least try. *grin*

Chapter 36--Clarifying Gifts

September 21, 1988--Oxford, England

Hermione blinked her eyes twice after she opened them for the first time that morning and looked at the clock beside her bed. The hands were turning counter clockwise, instead of clockwise. Time was rewinding yet again, a reminder of the events of the day before. _What was happening to me? Why do all these weird, strange things occur? Oh, think, Hermione. What stopped the rewinding yesterday? Oh, right, I lifted my hands. So let's try that. _Lifting her hands from her bed, she saw the clock's time snap back into place. Hermione shook her head, not understanding what was happening to her. Her mind racing, she pulled back her comforter with one hand before crossing to her wardrobe to pull out her uniform for school. _Okay, so do I have to lay both of my hands down on something? Is that it? I mean, pulling back the comforter didn't cause anything strange to happen. _Holding the rack for her uniform in both hands, she noticed that she couldn't move her legs. _What now? Why can't I move my legs? What is going on? _Moving the only part of her body she could, her hand went up through her hair to gather a small bunch in her hand. _Oh, and now of course I can move. _

Shaking her head, she continued into her half bath that was connected to her room. After slipping into the shower, Hermione was surprised when the water from the showerhead started to go up instead of down. _What? What did I do this time? Water going up? I'm losing my mind here. Wait, both hands…_Glancing at the bar of soap that she held in both of her hands, she dropped it to then notice the water falling down once more. _Okay, no more putting both hands on anything. _Quickly washing herself, Hermione stepped out of the shower and picked up her towel. Using both hands to wrap her hair in it, she was carefully balancing the towel on her head when she noticed the steam on her mirror dissipating as if reversing. _Didn't I just tell myself no using two hands for anything? And what happens? I use both hands. _Sighing, she released her grip on the towel only to see the steam covering her mirror completely once more. After carefully dressing, her eyes widened when she saw the time on the clock. _I am late! Wonderful, now the girls will be even worse. No more thinking about the weird things going on, Hermione! You have to get to school._

Grabbing her satchel with one hand, she raced down the stairs to the kitchen where her parents were having breakfast. Smiling at her mum, she poured a glass of orange juice before picking up the piece of toast lying out on the counter. Hurriedly, she ate her breakfast before following her mum to the car to leave for yet another day at the Dragon School.

October 1988--The Burrow

Ron barely gave his aunt time to say hello to his mum before taking her by the sleeve and pulling her into the sitting room. He had been waiting months for her to come visit. She wasn't around as often now since she had gotten married. At first, she had first moved to Oxford to be with her Muggleborn husband. A few years later, they had moved to the continent for Uncle Michael to study more, which made their visits few and far between. Nell simply laughed at Ron's enthusiasm over seeing her.

"Ron, I know you love me, but really is all this necessary? I didn't even really get to greet your mum, who is my favourite sister, you know? What is going on?" his mum's sister Nell asked, her dark hair curling madly over her shoulders. Although most Prewetts had red hair like his mum, Nell's dark hair was a throwback to their Black ancestry.

"Aunt Nell, Mum is your only sister." Ron looked confusedly at Nell before continuing, "Mum told me that you have the Prewett gift. She thinks that I might also have it, but she told me that I need to talk to you about it more since she didn't have it herself."

"Ah, I thought that would come up today." Nell gave a small smirk. Ron gaped at her before remembering what his mum had said about Aunt Nell's gift.

"You dreamt about this, didn't you?" Ron demanded to know. He watched his aunt's smile get larger before she nodded her head.

"Yes, Ron, I dreamed we would talk about the Prewett gift today last night," she answered him. "But my gift does not give specific details."

"So how does yours work? Does something specific trigger it? Can you make it stop?" Ron asked in a flurry of words. He fidgeted in his seat on the couch, swinging his leg back and forth. His body was constant in motion, reflecting the true nature of his mind at that moment.

"I can't control mine at all, Ron. One of our family members normally comes and tells me something in a dream. Last night you appeared, in the middle of a very good dream I was having, mind you, and said you wanted to talk to me about the Prewett gift. That was all. Nothing else. I couldn't tell you what triggers it. What makes Molly think you have it? What happens to you?" Nell clarified.

"Well, since I visited Brighton last year with Luna, whenever I touch someone or they touch me…I get these visions, I guess you could call it," Ron started to explain. But as much as he had wanted to learn about his aunt's gift, he didn't want to try to have to explain his. He was clueless about it still for the most part.

"But you just touched me to pull me in here. Did you have a vision about me?" she asked, placing her hand on her chest.

"No. It's got to be skin-to-skin contact or at least that's what I've noticed. That's why I deliberately pulled on your sleeve," Ron said, ducking his head. He looked everywhere but at his aunt. She placed her hand on his shoulder, making sure to touch his shirt.

"Okay, if you haven't seen a vision about me, what about your mum? What visions have you seen about her?" Nell prodded.

"Well, I kept seeing the same one whenever Mum touched me. At least until it actually came to pass. It started off in the kitchen. She was making a cake in the shape of a Hogwarts badge when Fred and George came barrelling in from the pitch and knocked her over. In the vision, she fell and twisted her ankle or something. I'm not sure exactly as I don't hear sounds. I only see what is happening. But I remembered what I saw when it started happening and managed to move into Fred and George's path before they could hit Mum," Ron described to his aunt.

"Ron, do you realize how awesome a gift you've been given? What I wouldn't give to be able to affect a change in what could happen. My gift is only informative in that I know what to expect. I can't actually change anything," Nell remarked.

"But, Aunt Nell, what about the visions I see and I'm not there to change it? I mean, I know I could warn them about what is going to happen, but why should they believe me?" Ron asked plaintively.

"Ron, is there someone in particular that you've had a vision of that you're worried about believing you? I honestly don't see any of your siblings or your parents, for that matter, not believing you," Nell said, running her hand through his hair.

He grew very still as the room around him faded from his sight.

_Aunt Nell stepped out of the Floo into the strange book-filled room. Her eyes sweeping around the room, she looked as if she were looking for someone. Seeing someone slumped over a table in the corner, she smiled widely before crossing to gently rub the shoulders of that person. Yet, at first touch, she started to shake her head and back away, staring down at the person with horror in her eyes. Her mouth opened wide as if screaming._

Ron's body jolted. Placing his hand over his heart, he struggled to calm his breathing. His mind raced trying to sort through what he had seen. Obviously, it was Aunt Nell in a room filled with books. A body with hair that looked like who? Ron thought the hair looked familiar, but he couldn't be sure who the body was since he didn't see the face. It was then he noticed his Aunt Nell calling to him.

"Ron! What happened? Are you okay? Ron! Talk to me," Nell demanded of her nephew, her hands fluttering all around him, but not actually touching him.

Ron's mum rushed in from the kitchen. "What's happening? Ronnie? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mum. I just had a vision about Aunt Nell. That's all. I was trying to sort out what happened," Ron replied, holding a hand over his eyes. The things he saw always came at him so fast that he struggled to remember what happened in what order. A twinge above his left eye nagged as it always did after an episode.

"Do you remember everything you saw?" Nell inquired of her nephew.

"I think so, but it goes so fast. It's not like I can stop and slow it down." Ron was bewildered when his mum jumped up from beside him and asked them to excuse her for a moment. She zipped her way into the kitchen.

"So Ron, can you tell me what you saw? Was it a vision about me?" Nell prodded. Ron slowly nodded his head. "So what did you see?"

"Well, you must remember that I don't know when it was. You came through a Floo into a room full of books. It looked like you were looking for someone, but…" Ron stopped, looking over at his aunt. He bit the inside of his lip, wondering if he should tell what he think he saw or not.

"Ron, what is it? What don't you want to tell me?" Nell asked.

"When you found the someone you were looking for, I think they were dead," Ron whispered.


	38. Visions

A/N: Many thanks to Jonelle for being a fantastic beta! I was hoping to get this out before now, but RL got in the way. Oh and I know there's no Harry or Mena in this, but no worries as they are next up! :) Thanks to all my readers and those who alerted and favorited. I have over 200 people who put this on their alerts. Woo hoo!

Chapter 37—Visions

October 1988-- Longbottom Manor

It was one of her rare days off. Alice was reading on one of the couches in her home office when she heard her name being called from the fireplace. She looked over and saw Molly Weasley's head floating in the green flames. She hadn't seen Molly since last year when Ron had run into Harry and Ginny.

"Alice, may I come through? I have something to ask you," Molly requested.

"Certainly, Molly," Alice responded. Taking her bookmark from the side table, she placed it between the pages and closed the book, laying it to the side. The older witch gracefully glided out of the Floo, which made Alice wonder if Neville or Nymph would ever become that graceful. They definitely were the epitome of the opposite at the moment.

"Thank you for allowing me to intrude on your day off. How is your family?" Molly said. Alice gestured for her to take a seat. Molly sat very primly on the edge of the armchair.

Alice internally sighed, knowing that she was going to be forced to go through all the small talk with Molly. Biting back a wince, she responded, "They are well. Neville is outside in the greenhouse as usual. Evan's around here somewhere with Melody, our child-minder. How is your family?" Alice forced herself to smile, even though she desperately wanted to just ask Molly what she wanted. But she knew her behaviour must be appropriate for the Bones and Longbottom families.

"They are well. Alice…" Molly trailed off. Alice tried to arrange her features into an encouraging look, but she wasn't sure if she quite pulled it off. Molly took a deep breath. "When you came to collect Ron's memory, you said that the Pensieve could stop and even go slow, right?"

Alice nodded, wondering where Molly was heading with this line of questioning. She was surprised when Molly then took up a different line.

"Alice, are you aware of some of the pureblood families having certain gifts?" Molly asked rather delicately.

"You mean, like the Blacks with their gift for disguise? We Bones have a gift for justice, I guess you could say…" She let out a small chuckle as she thought about Neville's ability to tell if one was telling the truth or not. _Must be the Bones gift coming out in him._ "The Longbottoms have a passion for plants."

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant. You see, the Prewetts have a gift as well. The gift of sight. It comes in various forms, but we… I mean, I think that Ron has that gift. But he was saying that he couldn't stop or slow down the visions he gets. As the visions are of the future, he wishes he could stop and take in the scenes more. I wondered if a Pensieve would work," Molly explained.

Alice thought about this for a moment. "I don't see why not. We can try it anyway." With that, she summoned her Pensieve, shrunk it and placed it in her pocket. Gesturing towards the fireplace, Alice said, "After you."

The Burrow

"When you found the someone you were looking for, I think they were dead," Ron whispered to his Aunt Nell as Alice and Molly walked into the room from the Floo. Alice wasn't quite sure if she had completely caught what Ron had said or not, but she figured she'd find out if it was necessary. She let Molly take the lead in explaining why she was there. Instead, she let her eyes take in the two previous occupants of the room. Nell, Molly's sister, was sitting on the couch beside Ron, silent and drained of all colour. Alice smiled at Nell. They had been friends at Hogwarts, but as life had been busy, they hadn't seen one another in quite some time. Ron was sitting with his head in his hands. When he heard his mum's voice, he popped his head up.

"Ron, I went to visit Mrs. Longbottom. Do you remember when she looked at your memory after Brighton last year?" Ron nodded. His mum continued. "Well, I recalled her talking about how the Pensieve worked, so I asked her to come and see if your visions would work in it as well." Alice thought that was her cue.

"Ron, it's good to see you again. Would you like to try and put your vision in and see it?" Alice asked, pulling the instrument and her wand out of her pocket before restoring the Pensieve to its proper size. She turned back toward Ron.

"But I don't think that will work," Ron said, tilting his head in thought. Alice puzzled over his statement.

"Why not?" Molly asked before Alice could.

"Because Mrs. Longbottom didn't see my vision when she looked at my memory about seeing Ginny," Ron replied. "At least I don't think she did." Alice thought about the memory she revisited almost weekly, looking for new clues to Harry and Ginny's location. If Ron had a vision, the only place in the memory it could be was the time the memory went black.

"Wait, are you saying that you saw your sister?" Nell asked.

"Ron, did you have a vision about Ginny?" Molly asked at the same time.

"Aunt Nell, yes, I saw Ginny. At least we think it was Ginny. Mum," he nodded to her. "I saw Ginny coming through the kitchen door behind an older stern-looking witch."

Molly collapsed in a chair. "My Ginny, coming through the kitchen door. That means she'll be coming home. Oh, Ron." Alice could only imagine the relief rolling through Molly at the thought of her daughter coming home. Still, she couldn't help but be sceptical at the idea of Ron's visions coming true, but she knew that very little was impossible when it came to magic.

Alice then asked, "You're sure that you included the part about the vision in your memory you gave to me?"

Ron nodded. "That's why I was so nervous about giving you the memory. I thought you would put me in St. Mungo's, for sure." Alice considered what Neville would have done in the same situation and saw how Ron could think that.

"When did you have the vision of Ginny?" Alice asked, trying to verify her supposition from earlier.

"I get them when I touch someone skin to skin. Ginny fell on top of me and her hands landed on my arms when she tried to push herself up. That's when the vision hit," Ron answered.

Alice started to nod. "That's why the memory went black. Still," she thought it over. "Maybe if you focused just on the vision, we could see it in the Pensieve."

"I can try." Alice readied Ron to focus on just the vision he had had that day. Touching her wand to the side of his head, she pulled a silvery strand from his temple. Dropping it into the Pensieve, she grabbed Ron's hand and fell into it. There was nothing but a black endless void surrounding them.

"You're sure you focused on the vision, right?" Alice asked.

"I'm sure," Ron replied. Alice pulled on Ron's arm and they flew back up into the sitting room of the Burrow. She stood up and dusted her clothes off. Her mind raced with possibilities of why the vision didn't work in the Pensieve and how they could make it work.

"Well, ladies, nothing doing. It doesn't work," Alice told the others.

Nell scrunched her forehead, thinking. "Ron, I think you should write down all your visions as you get them. Then you can record when they happen."

"That's an excellent idea, Nell," Alice remarked. Molly exited the room, only to return moments later with a bound journal in her hands.

"Here, Ron, this is for you to write your visions in. I always keep an extra journal handy," Molly exclaimed.

Ron hesitantly reached out to take the book. He ran his finger down the spine before grasping it and saying, "Thanks." Giving his mum a hug, he left the room.

"Well, if you don't need me anymore, I need to get back to Neville and Evan." With that, Alice slipped out of the room and to the Floo.

.


	39. Gifts Abound

A/N: Okay, so it's been a while. Hopefully the next update won't take so long, but there were a lot of things to make sure about in this chapter. Just for the record, I don't own _Phantom of the Opera_ or Harry Potter. I have seen _Phantom_ in the very theater that is described, though. :) Oh and I've never been to the Ritz so anything that's not accurate, blame the American writing about it. Thanks to Jonelle, Mel and Manda for helping me get unstuck with this chapter. You three are fabulous!

Chapter 38—Gifts Abound

October 29, 1988 -- Harper Place

Harry tugged at the unnatural feel of the tie at his neck before knocking on the door to the room beside his own. He and Mena were separated by a wall, but at times he thought that Mena would knock it down if she thought she could get away with it. Mena threw open the door with a squeal.

"Oh, Harry, can you believe our luck? We get to go to the theatre tonight to see one of the best musicals of the year!" Mena gushed. Harry couldn't help but smile back, even though he was slightly dreading the night's activities. Any activity that required him to dress in a jacket and tie was so not worth it in his opinion, but he had said he would attend. He couldn't help but sigh as he remembered how he had ended up in this to begin with.

Mena had been exchanging letters with a girl named Hermione that she had met while at the British Museum a few months ago. The Oxford girl was visiting London with her parents and had invited both Harry and Mena to join them in taking in a show. Harry had been surprised at the extension of the invitation to include him. After all, he had never even met her. But from what Mena had told Miss Stephens, Hermione had written and specifically invited the both of them. Mena had even shown Miss Stephens the letter as proof. So here he was, ready to go see _Phantom of the Opera_ with two girls. He tried to drum up some enthusiasm for Mena.

"Best show of the year, eh? Wow," Harry replied. Mena caught his lack of enthusiasm apparently since she slapped the back of his head. "Ow, best friend abuse," said Harry, rubbing the back of his head. Mena just smiled sweetly at him before grabbing his hand to pull him down the stairs. He slipped his hand out of hers to prevent her from pulling him headlong down the stairs. With unlimited energy, Mena bounced down the stairs, brushing past some of the other children that were headed in the other direction.

Harry continued down the stairs at a more sedate pace. Caught up in his thoughts about Mena and what was coming, he failed to notice Chase coming up the stairs until the older boy had knocked Harry to the floor with his shoulder.

Glancing up from his position on the floor, Harry saw Chase walking up the next flight of stairs, laughing with his cronies. _Just once_, Harry thought, _I wish Chase would end up on the floor himself._ The boy stood up and brushed off his nice clothes.

"Hermione! You're here!" He could hear his best friend's shriek, even though she was a floor below him. Harry froze in his spot on the stairs. There it was, the reason he was dreading tonight—Mena finding a best friend other than him. He turned the corner on the stairs to see his favourite redhead hugging a slightly taller, brown-haired girl.

"I'm so glad you invited us. _Phantom of the Opera_? How incredible!" Mena released the girl to bounce from foot to foot. Hermione's voice was too low for Harry to hear her response, so he allowed his gaze to drift around the foyer. He spotted two adults who must be Hermione's parents close to the front door, talking with Miss Stephens.

He slowly started to put one foot on the next step down. Mena's voice bellowed up to him. "Harry! Get down here now!" She stomped her foot, causing an echo to reverberate up the stairwell. He forced a smile on his face, much like the one that he had learned to put on whenever he had to show a brave face around his aunt and uncle, before making his way down to the ground floor.

Once his feet finally hit the ground floor, Mena was immediately by his side, grabbing his hand, pulling him to where Hermione stood. His feelings of dread and nervousness seeped out of him at Mena's touch.

"Harry Potter, this is Hermione Granger. Hermione, my best friend, Harry Potter," Mena introduced them, bouncing excitedly.

"It's nice to meet you, Harry. I've read so much about you in Mena's letters," Hermione said quietly. When Harry didn't respond, she continued. "Are you looking forward to the show tonight?"

"Sure," he responded, not wanting to embarrass Mena by telling his true feelings. Hermione looked confused at this response, probably because his tone didn't match his words.

"Have you ever been to the theatre before?" Hermione asked both Mena and Harry.

"No," Harry answered flatly.

"Yes," squealed Mena. "My adoptive parents took me to a couple of shows, but those were matinees, I think they're called."

"Harry, Mena," Miss Stephens called them to her. "I want you both to be on your best behaviour, please." Miss Stephens ran her hand through Mena's hair. She lifted Harry's chin in her hand and looked at him. Leaning down to whisper in his ear, she said, "It won't be as bad as you think, I promise."

Harry gave her a true grin before turning to be introduced to Hermione's parents. They quickly gathered their coats and followed the Grangers out the door.

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When the Grangers came to a stop outside of the Ritz Hotel, Harry knew his eyes were popping out of his head. He felt so small and insignificant in view of the opulence of the hotel. Harry did his best to hide behind Mena, but as she was smaller than him, it didn't work so well. Looking around at the other patrons as the group was shown to their table, Harry understood why he was dressed in a jacket and tie. He thought that he, Hermione and Mena were probably the only ones under the age of 15 in the whole place.

Once they were seated, Harry looked at the table setting to see a variety of utensils laid out around a rather fancy plate. He just knew that he was going to mess up something here. His breath caught in his chest as he envisioned Hermione's parents demanding that he leave at once after he managed to upturn the plate of food or worse, break it. His eyes frantically looked around the table, trying to find something that would help calm him. A drop of sweat trailed down his right temple as his left hand reached for his tie to loosen it.

The tension that had gathered in his body while focusing on his neck flowed down his right arm to where Mena had placed her hand in an effort to get his attention.

"Harry, what do you think of this place? Isn't it amazing that Hermione's parents were able to bring us?" Mena gushed as she pulled her hand back from his arm.

"It's nice," he said rather stiltedly.

"Nice?" Mena repeated. "This is one of the best places for tea in the country. Reservations have to be made well in advance."

"How do you know that, Mena?" Hermione asked. Harry could see curiosity in the girl's eyes.

Mena sat still for a minute before answering. "Because I remember my adoptive parents bringing me here." Her eyes searched the table as if the memory would just pop out of it. Hermione leaned in closer.

"Really?" she whispered excitedly. "I had to beg and plead to get my parents to bring us. Some of the girls at school had gone on and on about how great the tea is here. Mum and Dad almost didn't get reservations since we had to be specific as to the time so we could make it to the theatre in time."

"Well, I don't really remember it too well as it was three years ago," Mena replied quietly. Harry saw the sad, wistful look on Mena's face and grew angry at the older girl for making Mena feel that way. Directing a glare toward Hermione, he noticed that her hands, which somehow had ended up under the tablecloth, were glowing. Harry did a double take before reassuring himself that he was not hallucinating, but her hands really were glowing. Shocked, his eyes immediately went to her face, only to see a far off look in her eyes.

While extraordinary things were known to happen around Harry, this had to be the strangest thing he'd ever seen. Looking around the table, he discovered that Mena hadn't noticed anything or at least so it seemed. Hermione's parents were deep in conversation so it appeared that they didn't see anything either. Harry fidgeted in his seat as he didn't know how to handle the situation.

The glow of Hermione's hands dissipated when she pulled her hands out from under the tablecloth to lace her fingertips together above her plate. Harry couldn't help but wonder what exactly had just happened.

"Mena, did your adoptive dad have red hair like you?" Hermione asked, her voice so low that Harry had to strain to hear her.

"Yes," Mena responded, her voice cracking. Harry could hear the mournful tone in her voice and knew that she was close to tears. Longing to comfort her the way that she did when he had come to terms with the fact that his aunt apparently wasn't coming back for him after all, Harry started to reach for Mena's hand before realizing that the people around them probably wouldn't approve of him giving her a hug. Still, he had an overwhelming desire to wrap his arms around her to try to coax a smile out of her. He fervently wished that she wouldn't cry tonight, not when she had been so happy and excited about going to the theatre tonight. He was amazed to see a smile spread across her face. Her eyes sparkled when she looked at him.

"Thank you, Harry," she whispered, reaching over to squeeze his hand.

"For what?" he responded. She just grinned before turning back to Hermione.

"Hermione, my parents and I sat here at this table on the night that we were in the accident. At least I think this was the table. Anyway, yes, my adoptive dad had red hair. But how did you know?" Mena asked her, tilting her head to look at the older girl inquisitively.

Hermione's face paled and she cast her eyes downward, looking at the pattern on the carpet. The waiter appeared at their table, saving her from having to answer Mena. Hermione's parents monopolized the conversation for the rest of the meal, asking questions to learn about both Mena and Harry.

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A few hours later found Harry leaving Her Majesty's Theatre with the others after watching the show from balcony seats. Parts of the show were not as bad as Harry had expected, like the part with the chandelier. Still Harry would have preferred to stay back at Harper Place and read a good book.

"That was simply fabulous!" Mena gushed, dancing in front of Harry and the others on the sidewalk. "The music, the costumes, simply fabulous!"

"Well, I'm not sure I like how it ended," Hermione said. "I think Christine would have been better off with the Phantom than with Raoul." Her voice sneered a little on Raoul's name.

Mena's eyes widened. Her voice came out a little higher than before. Harry knew that meant that she was getting worked up to defend her opinion. He let out a groan and headed to the other side of the Grangers to watch the fireworks.

"But it's obvious that she was meant to be with Raoul. They had known each other all their lives. What could the Phantom offer her- darkness?" Mena retorted, with each step she took, becoming more and more agitated.

"Mena, he loved her. He needed her. Raoul wanted her for her beauty, but the Phantom could see her soul through the music," Hermione responded. They proceeded down the staircase to the Piccadilly Circus Tube station. They ran their Travelcards through the machines to allow them onto the platform.

"The Phantom wanted to control Christine. How is that love?" Mena responded once they were on the platform waiting for the next train. Harry looked up at the sign to see that the next train should arrive in about five minutes. He wondered if Mena and Hermione would continue this all the way back to Harper Place.

"Oh and Raoul didn't? Are you kidding me? The Phantom was lonely. He had no one else, but her. He wrote music just for her. He helped her with her voice. The music is their common interest. What do Raoul and Christine have in common?" Hermione asked over the voice reminding them to "Mind the gap."

"Oh, I don't know—a shared childhood? They were friends back when her father was alive. Raoul was the patron for the opera so they have music in common as well. Besides, Raoul would never kill anyone, not like the Phantom did," Mena expressed as they boarded the train that had pulled up while she was speaking. Harry groaned, knowing that it wouldn't end now.

"Mena, the Phantom had to kill to protect himself. It was self-defence. And what about Raoul? He would have killed the Phantom if he was given the chance." The two girls sat on a bench across the carriage from Harry.

"Raoul was too gentle for that. He would only have killed the Phantom if he thought Christine was in danger. Hermione, Raoul and Christine were meant to be together. Anyone could see that. The Phantom could. That's why he was so jealous over their relationship. He wanted to keep her to himself. Love doesn't do that. Love gives you wings. It doesn't keep you contained," Mena said.

"Are you sure you're only seven, young lady? Because that was something very profound you just said," Mrs. Granger added. Harry watched her lean over to whisper to the two girls. Both of the girls turned in unison to face Harry.

"So Harry, what do you think? Who do you think Christine should be with?" Mena asked, her arms crossed in front of her.

"Oh no, you don't. I'm not being dragged into this one, Mena. I don't have an opinion on this anyway," Harry responded, pressing himself up against the side of the train. Feeling the train come to a halt, he rushed to the doorway and slipped out quickly. Mr. Granger managed to stay up with him and the two of them waited for the girls at the top of the stairs in the Charing Cross Tube station.

"That was a smart move on your part, Harry. Never get in between girls who are debating about guys," Mr. Granger said, clapping Harry on the shoulder. They headed off to Harper Place.

Harry was stunned to see Chase making his way up the steps to Harper Place with his floor mother when the group got there. On Chase's left leg was a cast that hadn't been there earlier.

"Chase, what happened to you?" Mena asked as they went in the front door.

"I fell down the stairs," he grumbled. Harry knew the only reason Chase didn't call Mena a name was that his floor mother was there. Mena just looked very curious at his response with her eyes darting between Harry and Chase.


	40. Sighting

A/N: Here's another chapter. Not too many more now in this part of the series. Thanks as always to Jonelle and Mel for their excellent services as my betas. :)

Chapter 39—Sighting

October 31, 1988 – Leaky Cauldron

Sirius slammed the empty shot glass down onto the table. Wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, he leaned back to rest his head against the booth he was sitting in by himself. Remus was out of town, trying to secure a job after recovering from the recent full moon. Frank and Alice were spending time with their children enjoying the festivities, leaving Sirius by himself to drown his sorrows in firewhisky.

This day every year for the past seven years brought a melancholy mood, but the worst had been the ones he spent free from Azkaban without Harry. Ever since Alice had come for him in the prison, he longed to be able to take Harry out on this day and make happier memories to replace those that had festered while he was in Azkaban. Instead, it had become a ritual for him to end up here at the Leaky Cauldron, washing the bad taste in his mouth regarding the events of seven years ago out with as much firewhisky as he could get out of Tom.

He closed his eyes to the revelry that surrounded him as others still celebrated this day that marked the end of the war with Voldemort. As for him, he could never celebrate the day that saw him lose the only family he really had. He knew he still had Andi, Nymph and Ted, but James had been his brother for all intents and purposes.

Sirius grinned at the waitress when she placed four more shot glasses in front of him, giving him a sultry smile while picking up the empties. He picked up the first glass, gave a small toast to his friends in his mind and tossed the drink back.

A heavy hand clapped Sirius on the back. Turning, he saw Hagrid, the groundskeeper for Hogwarts

"Sirius! How are yeh? I haven't seen yeh since…" Hagrid's voice trailed off when he realized that the last time they saw each other was seven years ago that night. The huge man swallowed hard, but was still silent.

At these words, the memory that Sirius had been fighting to keep at bay started running through his mind.

_With tears in his eyes, he watched Hagrid's hulking form grow ever smaller. He turned to face the destroyed house. Not caring if anything happened to him, Sirius picked his way through the rubble. There, at the bottom of the stairs with his glasses askew, lay James. A force so powerful he couldn't have stopped it if he tried tore through __Sirius' body, releasing itself in the form of a keening howl. Sirius knelt beside the body of his best mate, struggling to understand how they, the Marauders, could have been brought to this. __He straightened James' glasses before his thoughts turned to the one who had betrayed them_. Peter. Peter had to be the one responsible for this. He had been the Secret Keeper, after all_. _

_With anger coursing through his veins, he stood and stormed out of the house. He ran into Frank Longbottom on his way out. When Frank looked like he was going to ask Sirius something, Sirius brushed him off._

"_Sorry, Frank, gotta go." Once Sirius cleared the fence, he Apparated to Peter's house. He quickly searched the area, only to find nothing that could lead him to Peter's whereabouts. The helplessness that welled in him threatened to overwhelm his very being._

The sound of a chair scraping the floor nearby pulled Sirius from his sense of loss that had pervaded his very being that night still pulled at him from time to time and on no other night was that more true than this one.

He looked up to see Hagrid still hovering by his table.

"Hagrid, I'm not the best of company right now. I doubt very seriously that you want to be around me as I plan to get to the point where I can't remember why I don't like this day anymore," Sirius stated.

Hagrid slipped into the booth opposite of him, ignoring Sirius' warning. For a second, Sirius wondered just how Hagrid fit in the booth. _Maybe benches that magically alter to fit the occupants?_ Sirius wondered before signalling the waitress for more.

Before long, the table was littered with empty shot glasses. Sirius was to the point that he was slurring his words when Hagrid brought up the reason that everyone around them was celebrating.

"Still hard to believe that James an' Lily are gone. An' poor Harry havin' ter live with Muggles."

"You know, I can't help but think that if things had been different that James and Lily would be here with at least two kids," Sirius said, resting his head once more on the back of the booth, closing his eyes.

"Well, those two kids could be James an' Lily's." Hagrid pointed towards two children, who were standing close to the door. Sirius raised his head to get a glimpse of the area where Hagrid was pointing.

"The boy looks like James, right enough. But the girl's hair is too orange to be like Lily's. It looks more like a Weasley to me," Sirius responded. After a few seconds, Sirius realized what he had just said. His eyes widened as he clambered to his feet. Racing to where the children had been standing, he looked around frantically. Seeing nothing, he headed to the door and scanned the surrounding area. Again, nothing. He sighed.

_Now what do I tell Alice?_

November 1, 1988—Harper Place

Replaying in her mind the snippets of conversation that she had overheard between Harry and Mena in the snack/study room, Janet sat cross-legged on her bed, debating whether she should try to contact someone in the Wizarding world. Honestly she was shocked that she hadn't seen anyone already since she was fairly certain that at least one of the two, if not both Harry and Mena, was magical. There had been several incidents at both Harper Place and their school that could only really be explained by accidental magic.

Taking a deep breath, Janet forced herself over to her desk. She pulled out pen and paper from the centre drawer. Biting on the end of her pen, the young woman considered who to contact. Saffron was in school and probably wouldn't be able to help her anyway, which only left her parents or Pandora. Janet didn't know if she could contact her parents without disastrous consequences. They had always been slightly ashamed that she was a Squib. She felt certain that they would have disowned her when she left all those years ago.

That left Pandora. Her sister, who was two years older than her, had never made her feel inferior despite the fact that Janet had no magic. In fact she had begged and pleaded for Janet, or Calliope as she was known then, to be able to attend Hogwarts anyway. Her request had of course been denied, but the act had helped soothe Janet's feelings of hurt and abandonment. It was to Pandora that she would write, Janet decided.

Dear Pandora,

I know it's been a while since I last wrote, but you must understand that after Nana and Grandpa's death that I couldn't bear the memories. It was already difficult enough trying to fit in when I didn't have magic.

I imagine a lot has changed in the last nine years. I recently got a letter from Saffron, inviting me to her graduation from Hogwarts. She's growing up so fast. It's hard to believe the little seven-year-old that I left at home will be graduating this year.

Still, on to why I'm writing. Pandora, I know you had friends at Hogwarts that were Muggleborn. Did they see magical locations before they found out about magic? A couple of the children I work with (I bet you never thought I would work with children) have seen the Leaky Cauldron. Judging by the conversation I overheard earlier, I would venture a guess that they somehow made it inside the Leaky recently too.

I'm not too surprised that there would be a magical child here, but I am a little shocked that there would be two and especially since they are so close to one another. One of the children's surname is one I remember hearing often growing up-Potter. So it wouldn't surprise me if Harry was magical. However, Mena's last name of Frayne isn't one I ever remember hearing around home. Still, if they are magical (they're seven and eight), is there anything I need to do to protect them or to help them? Or would they be safer here where they are without anyone knowing about them, especially since I've seen no one from the Wizarding world yet?

Sitting at her desk shortly after putting the children to bed, Janet lifted her pen from the paper on which she was writing. Leaning her head against her hand, she thought about what she was doing. Should she continue or should she just scrap the whole idea? Would her sister even want to hear from her now after all this time? Pandora was sure to have her own life. Surely her life hadn't stopped. It wasn't like the Wizarding world would have even noticed that she was gone.

No, maybe it was better if she stayed here in the safety of hiding, not letting anyone find out where she was. The nightmares of her grandparents' death had gradually tapered off. It was only on a very rare occasion that she saw the flashes of green light expelled from that monster's wand hit their bodies in her dreams anymore. A familiar sense of helplessness threatened to overwhelm her at the thought of her grandparents' death. If she didn't shake the horrifying thoughts soon, she would fine herself back in that closet witnessing their deaths before her eyes.

A shrill scream rent the air. Janet threw open the door to her room. Standing in the hallway, she heard sounds coming from Harry's room. She entered the room to see Harry's slumberous face covered in tears. Rushing over to his bed, she gathered him in her arms to soothe him back to sleep, her letter now forgotten.


	41. Sparks and Celebrations

A/N: So it's been a little while. But here's the next installment. It hasn't been fully beta approved yet. Still many thanks to Jonelle and Mel for their fantastic beta work. :) Thanks to all who have favorited and alerted. But most especially thanks to those who have reviewed! :) Enjoy! **Edited: 8/9/11**

Chapter 40— Sparks and Celebrations

June 1989—The Burrow

Molly Weasley surveyed the garden area of the Burrow, looking for areas that might need sprucing up. The tables were set for Bill's graduation celebration. She could hardly believe that her oldest son was old enough to graduate from Hogwarts, much less graduate as Head Boy. The only thing that could make this day even better was if Ginny was here with them so they could celebrate as a whole family. Taking a deep breath, she deliberately shoved all thoughts of Ginny into the back of her mind. Today was a day of celebration that shouldn't be marred with any unhappy thoughts.

She scurried back into the kitchen to finish preparing the food for the all day celebration. The rush of feet down the stairs alerted her that she would soon be swarmed by boys demanding breakfast. With a wave of her wand, she sent six steaming plates to the table. A chorus of male voices thanked her. Soon the only sound heard in the kitchen was that of chewing.

* * *

Harper Place, London

Mena bounced with excitement on the bottom step. Harry wanted to roll his eyes at her, but refrained from doing so, knowing that it would just irritate her. They were in the foyer waiting on Miss Stephens to get everything she needed from Ms. Thomas for their trip to Hidcote Manor Garden today. He knew that from here, they would take the Tube to Paddington to catch a train to Oxford.

Grimacing, he thought about the girl they were meeting there—Hermione. He supposed that she wasn't that bad, but he was tired of the fact that everywhere they went, other than school, she joined them. She had spent time with them two more times since the trip to the theatre. First they had gone shopping. At this memory, Harry really did roll his eyes. Shopping had to be his least favourite thing to do. The next trip could have been fun, if they hadn't gone to see _The Little Mermaid. _Of course, Mena had loved it because Ariel was a redhead like her. The outing just emphasised the fact that Mena was a girl and very different from Harry. He worried that she would prefer to be with other girls rather than with him before too long. It seemed that Hermione was stealing his best friend away from him, bit by bit.

* * *

Pleasant Rook

Saffron stormed into her sister's kitchen, the door slamming so hard against the wall that the plates shook in their cupboards. She let out a short scream, balling her hands into fists at her sides. Letting out a deep breath, she started to vent.

"I can't believe them. The very nerve! How dare they humiliate me like this!" she said to the empty room.

"Like what?" Pandora asked, coming into the room and crossing it to hug her sister. "Who has you this stirred up? No, wait, don't answer that." Pandora held up a hand. "I know—our parents." She heaved a sigh and sat at the table. "What have they done this time?"

"Oh, simply refused to come to the celebration given in honour of Bill and myself since it's being held at the Burrow." Saffron took a seat across from her sister and twisted her fingers together. "All because they don't get along with the Weasleys. Which I totally don't understand. More accepting people you will never find." Saffron threw her hands in the air in frustration.

"Well, I think it's a combination of things when it comes to the relationship between the Weasleys and our parents. Arthur and Molly are just a little older than I am, so it's not like Mum and Dad would be terribly close to them anyway. But I think it mostly has to do with the war that happened back when you were younger." Pandora stopped and looked at her sister for a moment. "Did you know that Bill has a little sister?"

"What?" Saffron's jaw dropped and she took a moment to recover. "Well, then where is she? How is it I've never heard of her?"

"Rumour has it that she was given away shortly after You-Know-Who was defeated. Apparently Molly and Arthur were trying to protect their daughter Ginny and somehow she got lost or taken. Mum believes however that Molly brought it on herself by working with Professor Dumbledore so closely with his Order." Pandora shook her head at the thought of her parents. "You know our mum, the only pure Slytherin in a family full of Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors and Ravenclaws."

"Honestly, I don't know how Calliope lasted as long as she did in our Slytherin house with their pureblood supremacist ideas. How can they believe that when their own daughter turned out to be a Squib? Thank Merlin I'm finally able to get away from them like Calliope did," Saffron replied.

"Fortunately, in Calliope's case, our grandparents protected her from our parents as much as possible. It still amazes me that Mum came from them." Pandora shook her head again.

"I don't remember them that well. I just remember that Calliope left very soon after their death, so I had to deal with the loss of my sister on top of my grandparents," Saffron added, twisting her fingers.

"Once Nana and Grandpa died, it was as if Calliope's very soul crumbled. She wasn't as able to withstand Mum and Dad's coldness toward her any longer. I wasn't too shocked to discover her gone when I came home from Hogwarts," Pandora stated, leaning her chin on her hand. "But I'm a little disappointed that she's never seen Luna. Calliope wasn't even at my wedding."

"I wrote her, you know," Saffron offered slightly offhanded. "I invited her to graduation. She could have come for it, right? I mean, even though she's not technically magical."

"Yes, she could have come. Are you sure she got the message?" Pandora asked, her forehead crinkling in concentration.

"The owl came back without the letter. I was hoping for a response, but apparently Calliope didn't want to." Saffron shrugged.

"Saffron, I know Calliope. She would never let one of us down if she could help it. It wasn't easy for her growing up in our house. She was constantly around magic and couldn't perform any of her own. Being dependent on Mum and Dad for literally almost everything." Pandora stared through the window, seeing images of herself and her younger sister growing up. She whispered, almost as a reminder for herself more than for Saffron, "Still, trying to exist in a magical world without magic can't be easy. And that's something she tried to do for seventeen years."

* * *

Oxford

Hermione's body hummed with excitement as she climbed into her mother's car to go to the train station. She was missing school today to go with Mena and Harry to Hidcote Manor Garden. While plants weren't nearly as exciting as books, Hermione was so looking forward to seeing Mena again. They had grown closer through their letters to the point where Hermione considered Mena one of her best friends. She sat down on the edge of her seat, barely able to restrain her excitement long enough to sit. Then she remembered who else would be on the trip—Harry. As much as she couldn't wait to see Mena, she would really prefer to not see Harry anymore than she had to.

The trio had seen each other twice since the play in London. Each time Harry had been very distant and had grown colder toward her. Hermione sighed and leaned her head against the window. Shrugging her shoulders, she decided that she would enjoy herself no matter what since she was able to spend time with Mena.

Arriving at the train station, Hermione and her mother quickly found the train platform on which the group from Harper Place would be arriving and took a seat on a bench nearby, waiting patiently for the train that would arrive from Paddington.

* * *

The Burrow

Bill Weasley looked around the garden of the Burrow at his gathered family and friends. Being the oldest of the clan, he hadn't been sure of whom or what to expect for his graduation celebration. He noticed that Saffron, a friend of his, only had her sister here, although he was fairly certain that his mum had invited her parents as well. He briefly wondered about what she would do now that she was finished with Hogwarts. Bill didn't want to lose touch with her, but considering where he was headed for his job, he couldn't be certain that wouldn't happen. Thinking about his job, he wondered how his mother would take the news. Deciding that there was no time like the present, he stood up and tapped his glass.

"I have an announcement to make," Bill said resolutely. "First, I want to thank my mother and father for being the best parents that anyone could possibly have and giving me all the necessary tools to help me decide what I wanted to do with my life. With that said, I want to announce that as of next week, I'll be employed as a Curse Breaker for Gringotts."

Chaos erupted around him. Bill had one eye on his mum the whole time to catch her reaction. She simply collapsed onto one of the benches of the table. Her face was extremely pale. A cacophony of voices were yelling congratulations to him while several family members came and shook his hand vigorously, saying that he would make the Weasleys and Prewetts proud with a fine job like that. He saw his Aunt Nell conjure his mum a glass of water and place it on the table. The glass wavered in his mother's hand as she brought it to her lips. Seeing the shakiness of her hand caused a thread of worry to weave its way through his belly. He watched her place the glass down and grip the bench on either side of her, arching her back to take deep breaths. Once he managed to get away from his uncle's fierce grip, he made his way to his mum.

"Mum?" Bill asked very hesitantly. "Are you okay?" When she didn't answer, he became increasingly worried. A hand wrapped around Bill's upper arm and pulled him to the hedge surrounding the garden.

"Bill, I don't want you to worry about your mother. She's… She's being helped," Arthur told his oldest son.

"What do you mean, she's being helped? In what way?" Bill asked confused.

"You're old enough to know now, but that means you don't tell your brothers anything. Do you understand?" Arthur looked at Bill expectantly.

"Of course, Dad. Whatever you say. Now what did you mean?" Bill asked imploringly.

"Your mother's seeing a Mind Healer. She's been having what is termed panic attacks."

Those two words reverberated through Bill's mind. _Panic attacks_. _Should he stay closer to home then? Wouldn't his family need him? _His father put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know what you are thinking, Bill, and no. You must live your life and follow your dreams. Don't allow this to change your mind. We've taught you to be a good, honourable wizard. You've already made a decision to work for the goblins and a fine job that you will have with them. It's an honour to be chosen by the goblins, you know. They don't just take anyone. Please, son, don't let what's going on with your mother affect your life too," Arthur told his son.

"But… but what causes them?" Bill asked. "Will she get better?"

Arthur shrugged. "The Mind Healer seems to think so. He thinks it's just a result of losing Ginny in the manner that we did." Arthur got a far off look in his eye. "Maybe the only way that the attacks will stop is if Ginny is ever found." Sighing, Arthur threw his arm around Bill, leading him back toward the party. "Now, where will you be working?"

"Well, at first I'll be in Romania for training, but after that, I'll be based in Egypt," Bill answered.

"That's fantastic, son. I know you'll make your mother and I proud. You already do that anyway, just by being who you are."

* * *

Hidcote Manor Garden

Mena pulled Harry by the arm into another 'room' of the garden. Feeling frustrated, Hermione stared at Harry and Mena's retreating backs. She didn't think that Mena was choosing Harry over her, but it was still difficult seeing them go off together without her. Catching her inner cheek between her canines in a habit that her parents despaired that she would never outgrow, her eyes filled with sadness and worry over whether or not she should follow them or just be content to be on her own for now.

Deciding to wander on her own, she began viewing the unusual varieties of plants that the designer and developer of the gardens had brought back from his plant hunting expeditions. She sat down on a nearby bench to fully appreciate the blooms around her. Pulling her eyes from the flowers, her attention was caught by a boy who looked to be about her age. His mannerisms were like none she had ever seen before. He came to a stop before a blank spot in the garden, facing the garden wall. The hedge that formed the wall slid back, much like automatic doors at a shop. The boy walked through and the shrubbery converged back together to look once again like a solid wall. Unable to believe her eyes, she gazed at the spot where the boy had been. An adult walked past the spot without any movement from the hedge.

_Should she investigate or go find Mena and Harry?_ Just the thought of the Harry had her deciding to investigate. She stood and crossed to the location where she had seen the boy. The branches glided apart, revealing another garden room. Hermione tentatively entered, unsure of what to expect.

It looked like how she had imagined the garden in Wonderland to look. Plants like nothing she had ever seen before were haphazardly placed in a multitude of beds. For a moment, she considered how the garden seemed so much larger than it appeared on the other side of the hedge. Giving up on trying to figure out that particular puzzle, she decided that it might be best to find a bench. Spotting one, she sat heedless to how she placed her hands.

The moment her palms hit the wood of the bench, thing around her started to reverse. The butterflies that hovered around several bushes fluttered backward. Yet, the young boy whom she had followed into the garden, continued to putter around the plants like normal. The only ones she ever noticed able to do that was Mena and Harry.

Multi-coloured lights emanating around her startled Hermione out of her musings. There were now adults around her, moving backwards, holding slim wooden sticks in their hands. It was into these sticks that the coloured lights were receding. Throwing her hands into the air, the view of the garden around her reset itself to find the young boy now sharing the bench with her.

"Hello," he said. "I'm sorry if I startled you."

Hermione stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. Releasing it slowly, she opened her eyes. "Hello. I wasn't expecting anyone to join me. I'm Hermione." She held her hand out.

"Neville," he stated, clasping her hand. Light sky blue points of light radiated from their joined hands. Both children's eyes grew wide. _What is going on?_

* * *

The Burrow

Pandora kept one eye on Luna chasing Ron while asking Saffron about when she started her new job.

"Oh, I'm starting the Monday after next. There are a variety of training seminars that I have to attend first. Apparently they have to make sure I understand the complete need for secrecy. As if the simple name Department of Mysteries doesn't give any hints! I mean, really," Saffron answered, watching the people mill around the garden. _Saffron's shoes must be bothering her_, Pandora thought as she watched her younger sister shift her weight to her right foot.

"Saffron, this is the ministry we're talking about. If they couldn't recognize that certain elements in our society were members of Voldemort's Death Eaters, then how could they possibly understand the simplicity of the names that they assign their departments?" Pandora questioned, turning to look at her sister.

"I see your point," Saffron started before shifting to her left foot. Ron Weasley, being chased by Luna, brushed against Saffron's elbow with his upper arm. Ron fell to the ground, his eyes glazing over, much like he did at Brighton.

Saffron's voice became deep and throaty.

"_**One body, one soul together here are not yet complete,**_

_**The hearts, along with a body, will a soul today meet."**_


	42. Figuring Things Out

A/N: I bet you thought I had abandoned this fic, didn't you? I haven't. I just had major writer's block for it. Finally though one of the characters has started talking to me once more and while I have more written, the rest isn't quite ready yet. But I wanted to give everyone something. Thanks to Jonelle for being a fabulous beta and talking me through the writer's block as best she could. **EDITED: 8/9/11**

Chapter 41—Figuring Things Out

June 1989—Hidcote Manor Gardens

Janet trailed behind her charges, letting them lead the way around the gardens. Today the orphanage had managed to corral enough volunteers to chaperone the trip that she only had to watch three children. Of course she chose to watch Harry, Mena and Hermione, mainly because she was the one who had given permission to invite Hermione and thought that she should be responsible for the girl.

There was another reason that she wanted to watch over the trio that she would barely admit to herself, much less explain to anyone else. Seeing the three of them interact with one another brought back memories of her childhood before Pandora went off to Hogwarts. Growing up, Pandora and she were almost inseparable, much like Harry and Mena. That all began to change once the sisters met _him, _the handsome black haired boy who lived across the square from them in London. He possessed far too much charm for such a young boy. Pandora became friends with himright away, like Hermione and Mena. It wasn't that she didn't like him or didn't get along with him very well, like Harry and Hermione. Still, she hadn't acted the best around him due to the fact that she had formed a huge crush on him, her first ever. In fact, no guy since then had ever looked so good to her or even treated her so well, especially when she had been completely horrible and shrewish toward him. She guessed that had been the main appeal of one Sirius Black.

* * *

The Burrow

As soon as the glaze escaped Ron's eyes, he scrambled to his feet and took off to the house. Luna gazed after him, trying to figure out whether to go after him or settle for questioning her aunt. Biting her lower lip, she mentally flipped through her memories of all the times she had seen Ron look like that and each time he had refused to talk to her about it. Oh, she knew that he wasn't trying to hurt her with his omissions, but she knew it wasn't worth trying to chase after him. Instead she turned to her aunt.

"Aunt Saffron, why did your voice go all low and deep?" she asked earnestly.

"What do you mean, Luna love?" Saffron ran a hand over Luna's hair. "Wait, what was I talking about?"

"Saffron, your voice... it sounded so gravelly and." Pandora cocked her head to look at her sister. "Just different." She tapped her finger against her lips. "It reminds me of something, but I can't quite place it."

"What did I say in this deep voice?" Saffron asked.

"I don't remember exactly," Pandora started.

"Mum, I remember. She said, 'One body, one soul together here are not yet complete, The hearts, along with a body, will a soul today meet.' But that doesn't make any sense, does it?" Luna interrupted. "Aren't there lots of minds and souls here? And how can they not be complete?"

Luna watched her mother and aunt talk about what had happened while her mind puzzled over the words her aunt had uttered. No matter which way she tried to interpret it, it didn't make any sense to her whatsoever. She shrugged and decided to store it in her memory to come back to later.

* * *

Hidcote Manor Gardens

Janet's thoughts continued down memory lane. She recalled all the times she acted so horribly to Sirius, not knowing how to deal with the feelings of her first crush. The worst had been just after Pandora and Sirius received their Hogwarts letters. By that point in time, Janet had already suspected that she was a Squib, even though her family was known to be late bloomers with their magic. Sirius and Pandora had been so excited to go to Diagon Alley and get their supplies. She had just known that she would never get to experience that excitement for herself, but it had been confirmed for her in the worst way during their trip to Diagon Alley.

"_Oh, so that's what it feels like. Wow! Do you feel it, Sirius? That tingling sensation flowing up my arm. It's incredible," Pandora exclaimed. Each word seemed like a dagger in Calliope's heart. Pandora and Sirius were standing at the counter while Mr. Ollivander pulled out wands and placed them in front of the two future Hogwarts students. They both picked up the wands and gave them a wave before placing them back in the boxes after Mr. Ollivander shook his head in disappointment that his sense of recognition had been off. The old man turned back to his stacks of boxes._

_Calliope crept closer to the counter to touch the discarded long wooden objects. Her hand tentatively reached out. She held her breath, hoping that she would have the feeling that her older sister had just described. Calliope grasped the first one, feeling nothing. Her heart sank. Fighting the tears that wanted to well in her eyes, she reached for the next one when she heard her name._

"_Calliope Janet. Oh, dear, I'm so sorry. There's really no reason for you to be touching a wand since none will ever choose you," Mr. Ollivander stated plainly._

_Calliope froze as her mother asked the wizened man what he was talking about. The moment the word Squib passed his lips, she bolted from the shop as fast as her nine-year-old legs would carry her. People milled throughout the walkways, creating barriers for Calliope to dash around and under. She wound her way through the streets with tears spilling down her cheeks and making it difficult for her to see. Barely making out an opening between the crowds of people, she darted into a side alley. She came upon a doorway, which she leaned against before sliding down to sit on the stoop. Hugging her knees to her chest, she buried her head in her arms crossed above her knees and sobbed._

Apparently everyone had been looking for her, but Sirius had been the only one who could find her in that alleyway. Janet wasn't quite sure how it was that he had found her, but he had. When he had reached her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Her hand shot to that shoulder now in remembrance of the touch. A tingle had shot down her arm then, but she forced that feeling as far from her mind as she could. Looking up, she had seen the pity in his eyes, along with some other unfamiliar emotion, causing her to draw away from his touch. She had been very cutting with her words to him before retreating into herself, unable to cope with the revelation that she was as she feared- a Squib.


	43. Sighting the Future

A/N: Woo hoo! Another update! The block is over, or so it seems. Actually this part of the story is coming to an end soon. I'm figuring about two or so more chapters left. *grin* Thanks as always to J for being a great beta. She helps keep me consistent and her knack for remembering the little details is awesome. Thanks too to C, for making a few suggestions to make one of the scenes clearer. *grin* Thanks to all who are reading.

Chapter 42- Sighting The Future

Hidcote Manor Gardens

Janet paused in front of a gate that led to another section of the garden. Instead of seeing the landscape in front of her eyes, her mind was transported to the gate that led to the park in the London square that was in front of her parents' home. She had travelled there earlier in the week, hoping that Saffron would have made it home from Hogwarts. She hadn't thought out how she would get Saffron out to the park, but in the end, it hadn't mattered.

_Janet had made her way up the steps from the Tube station. After she had dropped her charges off at their school, she changed from their bus to ride the Tube to her former home. She knew that her parents had no idea that she had actually stayed in the same city when she left home. The young woman she had been knew that she could not survive too far out of her element. It had been hard enough explaining how it was that she didn't know how to do certain Muggle things once she had joined that world. _

_Crossing the street to enter the park that occupied the centre of the square that her parents' home faced, she contemplated ways that she could get Saffron out of the house without seeing her parents. Janet knew that it would not go well if that particular occurrence happened. She was standing just inside the gate when the distinct crack of Apparition had resounded through the park. Knowing that this area was filled with wizards that for the most part believed in wizard supremacy, she quickly moved to the shadows of the trees, hoping to disguise herself so the wizard wouldn't be tempted to Obliviate her. _

_A familiar electric feel coursed through her body settling itself in her chest, a feeling that had been dormant for as long as she could remember until today. The last time this sensation consumed her it had been with Sirius Black after the wand shop incident. From the shadows of the trees across the park came a man, not much older than her, with a dark cloak on with its hood pulled up to cover the head of the owner. At least she assumed it was a man, judging by the broadness of the shoulders. Her eyes narrowed, focusing on the deliberate stroll of the man. The cloak hid most of his body's movements, but still there was something about the way he was moving that sparked a memory deep within her. Sirius had always moved like that when he was trying to sneak up on Pandora and her, mainly trying to prank them. Janet had studied Sirius' every move for almost six years; she knew, without a doubt, that it had to be Sirius. She threw her hands over her mouth, stifling any sound that tried to make its way out. _

_The wizard exited the gate and in a few long strides, disappeared in front of where Grimmauld Place should stand. She tilted her head, not seeing the house she knew to be there. Turning back to where the parents' house stood, she then turned her body about 150 degrees to where Sirius' house should stand. Still, she couldn't see the grim outline of the house, even though she was absolutely sure that Sirius had entered that very spot. Lost in her thoughts, Janet exited the park, returning to Harper Place._

Janet had left without making contact with her sister. Now she worried that she wouldn't be able to get in touch with her as Janet had no idea where Saffron would be working. Even though it was possible that she might be able to find an owl to send either Saffron or Pandora a letter, it would be difficult since she couldn't exactly get to the closest owl post office without a wand. She sighed.

Looking about, she noticed that Mena and Harry were alone and searching for something. She was wondering about Hermione's absence when the girl stumbled through a hedge that appeared to be fully grown over. Janet just closed her eyes and counted to ten before taking a huge breath. She mumbled to herself before heading over to the trio, "How is it that a Squib ended up taking care of not one or two magical children, but three?"

* * *

The Burrow

Ron squeezed his eyes shut tight, revisiting the vision that had just played out in front of his eyes. He knew he would have to fight to hold onto the vision that had played in his mind, especially as it was different from any he had ever seen before. He scrambled to his feet and without saying a word to anyone around him, ran toward the house. He scurried through the kitchen, skipping a stair or two in his climb to the top floor and his bedroom. Having learned from experience that the best way to keep a vision fresh in his mind was to replay it over and over, his only thoughts were of the sight, at least until he reached his bedroom doorway.

On his bed sat his mother, pouring over his vision journal that he had kept ever since his Aunt Nell had suggested it. He stopped short and scowled over the sight in front of him. His mother was in tears, alternating between clutching the book to her chest and reading the entries.

"Mum?" he said hesitantly. While he was worried about what was going on with his mum, he really needed that journal so he could write down all of the details of the vision before the images were lost. Ron knew that he would regret it if he didn't get the opportunity. "Mum? Can I have my journal, please?"

Yet, his mum didn't respond. In fact, she didn't even move. He edged into the room, carefully moving closer to his mum. Gingerly, he laid a hand on his mum's shoulder. She raised her head to look at him.

"Oh, Ronnie," she said, wiping her tears. "When did you get here? What are you doing here? Wait, what am I doing in your room?"

"I don't know, Mum. May I have my journal please?" Ron asked, wondering what exactly was going on with his mum.

"What? Did you have another vision? Are you okay?" Molly asked, still clutching the book to her chest.

"Mum! The book, please, before I forget what I need to write," Ron demanded, holding his hand out for it. She handed it to him and he grabbed the quill and ink that he had placed beside his bed for just such occasions. Ron hurriedly sat on the bed and scooted back so that his back rested against the wall before flipping the pages open to the next blank page. His eyes seemed to glaze over once more as he did his best to record the vision exactly as he saw it.

"Was it Bill again? Is he going to get hurt in Romania? Oh, what am I going to do with him that far away from home?" Molly questioned pensively.

"Mum, I thought I had explained how it works, at least as far as I've figured out. I get the same vision of the person each time until the time for that event passes. Whether or not it happens, who knows?" He shrugged.

"So this one wasn't about Bill then?" his mum asked.

"No, this one was about Luna's aunt. It was weird though. All of my other 'visions' have shown the person getting hurt. Well, except for the one about Ginny and the boy she was with, the things I saw with them was different as well, but still not like this one. With Ginny and the boy, it was just something that must happen in the future. I mean, one was on a train and the other was Ginny coming home. The one today was stranger though because it was just Luna's aunt saying something. Very strange."

* * *

Hidcote Manor Gardens, Magical Section

"Wicked," Neville commented. "What sort of magic do you think that is?"

Hermione just stared at their hands and the sky blue lights pulsing from them. Pulling hers out of his grip firmly, she turned her palms toward her eyes, gazing in wonder. _What was going on with her hands? First, the reversing time thing, now strange and unusual lights? _Her eyes darted from one hand to the other, thoughts swirling faster and faster until she shot her hands out to her sides to steady herself.

Neville grabbed her hand once more and again blue lights surrounded them. She pulled her hand from his and stood up quickly.

"I... I have to go find my friends," Hermione stuttered, stumbling to find her way out. She headed to the wall, only to discover that wasn't where the hidden door was. She ran along the edge with Neville close on her heels, calling for her to wait. When the hedge parted, the young girl burst through it as fast as her legs could carry her. She glanced back over her shoulder at Neville once more. Turning around, she almost ran over Harry and Mena, who had apparently been looking for her.

"Hermione! Are you okay? You're shaking like a leaf!" Mena said, wrapping her arm around her friend. "Let's sit down, shall we?"

Mena guided the older girl to a nearby bench away from the main walkway to allow her time to calm down.

"What is it? What happened?" Mena asked a few moments later.

"Have you ever…" Hermione started before shaking her head. She knew that she couldn't ask that. They would think she was crazy. Instead she chose to blow off the whole thing. "Forget it. So what all have you seen? Are there any unusual plants around? What sorts of trivia have you discovered?" She bit her lip, hoping that the pair would allow her to steer the conversation away from what had just happened.

Mena looked puzzled for a moment before brightening when Harry gave a friendly suggestion.

"Let's go look at the other sections now. I'm sure that Hermione would like to see that pond we just saw a few moments ago, Mena." With that, the three of them strolled away.

* * *

The Burrow

Ron saw his eldest brother break away from a group of their relatives and head toward the drinks. He planned his walk to coincide with his brother's path.

"Congratulations, Bill! Your job sounds fantastic," Ron stated.

"Thanks, Ron. I really pondered on what to do after Hogwarts. When it's your turn, make sure it's something that you can see yourself doing and not getting bored. Life is too short to be bored at work. You'll be able to figure out once you're at Hogwarts. The classes that you can't stand to be in will be useful in avoiding for your career," Bill said, clasping a hand on Ron's shoulder.

Ron toyed with his cheek utilizing his teeth. Closing his eyes to gather his courage, he said in a rush, "Bill, what do you know about the Prewett gift?"

"I know that Aunt Nell has it. That it takes different forms in each Prewett that is bestowed with the gift. But not much more than that. Why?" Bill asked, clearly puzzled as to the direction of the conversation.

"Well, I've got the gift or at least that's what Aunt Nell and Mum think. Anyway, I've 'seen' two things that you need to know about before you go to Romania. I just wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't warn you," Ron said.

"What do you mean, warn? What form does your gift take?" Bill questioned his younger sibling.

"I'm sure you've noticed that there are times when I seem to stare off into nothing. When someone touches me skin-to-skin, I get glimpses of something to do with them. With most, it seems that I see a time when that someone gets hurt. For instance, the sight I see when I touch you right now shows you standing in front of a cave. There's a goblin there with you. I'm assuming that it's your mentor during your training as the area is full of mountains. You'll... This is so hard to explain when I don't know the appropriate magical terms. You'll be moving your wand in a circle, but instead of breaking the curse, it looked like your spell strengthened it. The next spell you cast rebounds off the cave wall and hits you and your trainer. At the end of the vision, you aren't moving. I don't know how bad it is for you, but my gift sometimes shows simple injuries, but others... I've seen Aunt Nell return to a room with a body in it, evidently dead."

"Ron, you said two things. What's the other? And don't worry, I won't forget your first warning," Bill replied.

"The other concerns Charlie. You're the only one other than Mum and Dad who knows about this now. So I thought if I told you, then I wouldn't have to tell Charlie since it happens with you there. Charlie will come to see you while you're training in Romania. He's going to discover a dragon preserve nearby, which is great since I have a feeling that he'll end up doing something like that when he leaves Hogwarts. Bill, you need to make sure that he stays away from the huge dark grey dragon. Its eyes are a deep dark red. If he gets too close on this trip, he won't make it home."

Bill's eyes widened as he looked at his little nine-year-old brother, who was telling him about their brother's possible death. How was it possible that anyone could handle a gift such as his? Bill squeezed Ron's shoulder with the hand that still rested there.

"No worries, Ron. I'll take care of Charlie. Mum can't lose any other children, not after Ginny," Bill responded.

"Actually, though, Bill, I think our little sister will be back home in about two years or so. At least if I have the timing of the vision right."

Bill just stood there with his mouth agape, completely speechless.

* * *

September 1, 1989

Nymphadora Tonks sat at the Hufflepuff table, craning her neck to see around the Great Hall. She made sure to note where her friends from the different Houses were sitting. Stopping her gaze on the head table, she took in the different professors that were seated there. Someone who looked familiar was sitting beside Professor McGonagall, but from the distance between Nymph and the head table, she couldn't make out the face clear enough to know for certain who it was. She assumed that she would have to wait for Headmaster Dumbledore to make the announcement.

It wasn't long before the old wizard was at the podium giving his beginning of year speech that always followed the Sorting and dinner. But still, she hadn't been expecting the announcement of one of her idols as her new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. No wonder the form beside Professor McGonagall had looked familiar. The new professor was none other than the Auror, Alice Longbottom.


	44. Games

A/N: Okay, I know. Long time, no write, but school is almost out (tomorrow is students' last day). I'm back on track for this story and should be able to finish it before I go to England this summer. At least that's the plan. *grin* Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, favorited, and alerted. You make me feel so good! As usual, thanks to my fabulous beta, Jonelle for making this better. *grin* Short it's short, but I have more in the works already.

Last Chapter: Janet Stephens, Harry Potter, Mena Frayne and Hermione Granger were visiting Hidcote Manor Gardens when Janet recalled seeing Sirius Black again during her attempt to visit her sister Saffron. Janet also found out that Hermione was magical when she reappeared from the magical portion of the gardens. Ron added a new vision to hi vision journal after getting the journal back from his mum who was trying to find out what was going to happen to Bill due to his new job. Neville and Hermione's hands glowed when they touched and competely freaked Hermione out. Ron told Bill about his Prewett gift and warned him about what he saw for both Bill and Charlie. Tonks discovered that the new D.A.D.A. professor was none other than Alice Longbottom.

Chapter 43-Games

November 30, 1989—Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom, Hogwarts Castle

Nymphadora Tonks sat slouched on a bench that ran along the outside wall of her Defence classroom, her eyes warily taking in her surroundings. She had arrived at the room several minutes early, somewhat impatient for what had become her favourite class to start. However, it wasn't uncommon for Professor Longbottom to set up a trap in the classroom to remind her students that defence wasn't just a theory class, but a practical one as well. Seeing nothing unusual about the room, Tonks leaned her head against the stone at her back and let her mind drift back to her memory of her first class with Professor Longbottom.

"_Well, come in. Don't dawdle out in the corridors. I don't bite, at least not school children. Argh, there's nothing I abhor more than people who waste my time. In," Professor Longbottom stated, shooing the students congregated out in the hall into the classroom._

_Before calling roll, the professor had asked each student to answer a question when she called their name. It was a simple question, really, at least in Tonks' eyes. 'Why were they taking NEWT level Defence?' Over half of the twelve that were taking the course mentioned wanting a career with the Ministry as an Auror, an Unspeakable, or a Curse-Breaker._

It still amazed Tonks that there were only twelve sixth years taking NEWT level Defence. Apparently now that You-Know-Who was gone, no one thought about the fact that another could rise at any moment. The remainder of the class had filed in around her during her musings.

Looking around, she narrowed her eyes in amazement that her professor wasn't there, at least not that she thought. Remembering the instruction she had received from Professor Longbottom about eliminating weaknesses as much as possible, she instinctively stood up and moved herself to a corner of the room. Her new position allowed her an unobstructed view of the room and its occupants. This would make it so that she didn't have to move any further, eliminating her weakness of clumsiness.

It wasn't long before her instincts had paid off. Streams of different coloured lights attacked from various points around the room. Tonks threw up a shield in front of her and watched as each of her classmates tried to attack rather than shield. Using the knowledge she gained from their attacks to plan her own, she quickly shot spells at two of the areas that the streams of light were emanated from. But, in doing this, she let her shield fall allowing her professor to stun her like the rest of her classmates.

It was only when she was revived that she realized just how lucky she was to have a teacher like Professor Longbottom teaching her Defence in preparation for her entry into the Auror Academy. Tonks only hoped that she would still be there next year unlike all of her previous Defence teachers.

December 2, 1989- Harper Place

Harry slinked his way up the stairs, trying to make as little noise as possible. He wanted to give Fiona as few clues as to where he was going to hide as he possibly could. Mena had slipped into one of the rooms on their floor while the others who were joining in on their hide and go seek game were going downstairs to hide. Harry, instead, had decided to venture up the stairs. He knew there was a floor above theirs, but neither he nor Mena had ever gone up there in the four years that they've lived there.

Pausing at the top of the stairs to inspect the layout, he noticed that it was exactly like the floor he lived on. He didn't know why he expected it to be different since the first floor and all those above where the same layout. He made the decision to hide in the room above Mena's. Slipping through the door, he saw even the bedrooms were laid out just like the floor below. He opened the door to the wardrobe and crawled inside, pulling the door close behind him. Now he knew it was just a matter of waiting.

Tentatively, he placed his hand on the back of the wardrobe, feeling the wood under his fingertips. Miss Stephens was reading them the story _The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe_. At times, he wished he could find his way to Narnia. Harry thought about how exciting that would be. Of course the story always for some reason made him think of his family. Maybe it was because he longed for brothers and sisters like the Pevensies. Instead he was stuck with Dudley as a cousin. He got lost in his own thoughts about his family, wondering what had happened to Aunt Petunia, causing him to lose all sense of time.

Before long, he was pulled out of his musings by the sound of Mena's voice calling for him. Evidently, Fiona hadn't thought of looking for him up here. He stuck his head out of the wardrobe and twisted around to see Mena sticking her head in the door. She grinned at him before asking him what he was doing.

"I was hiding from Fiona, of course," he responded.

"Harry, we stopped playing a while ago. What have you been doing?"

"Um..." Harry didn't know how to respond to that one. He crawled out and crossed to where Mena stood in the hallway. Thinking about how they were already up there, Harry asked, "Do you want to explore with me?"

"Sure," she said with a shrug. "But doesn't it look exactly like our floor?"

"Well, it's the same layout, but come on, no one's lived up here since we came. Don't you want to see what all is up here? Let's explore like the Pevensies did." His eyes twinkled with excitement.

Mena followed Harry down the hallway. They stuck their heads in each room and it wasn't until the room above Harry's that either of them wanted to venture into the room. Harry caught Mena's hand in his and tugged her in.

"Do you feel that?" he asked her. He dropped her hand. A tug in the middle of his chest yanked him further in the room. As he grew closer to the bed, he could hear whispers.

"Come closer. We have treasures to be shared."

"Do you hear that?" He cocked his head toward the wardrobe. Reaching out with his hand, he started toward it until Mena grasped his other hand and jerked him back.

"NO, HARRY!" Mena screamed. "There's just something not right. We need to go downstairs NOW!"

Harry looked back at her to see her chest rising and falling rapidly like she couldn't get enough breath. A bright red light emanating from their hands distracted him and caused him to stumble back toward the door.

"Mena... What's going on with our hands?"


	45. Christmas Eve

A/N: Thanks to Jonelle, for being the fabulous beta she is. See, I am working on this. Summer vacation is here! *grin*

Chapter 44-Christmas Eve

December 24, 1989-Grimmauld Place, London

Neville stumbled out of the Floo into his parents' friends' home. His brother Evan, who was in his dad's arms so he wouldn't get lost in transit, pointed at Neville and laughed when his older brother fell into the ottoman that was not far from the fireplace.

Sirius chuckled before telling Neville, "That's exactly why the ottoman is there. My best friend used to have problems exiting the Floo and ever since I've always kept something soft in front in case others are the same way." He turned to Neville's parents. "Come this way. Remus is in the kitchen. While Kreacher isn't being too helpful, we'll still have a decent meal."

Neville tried to recall if he had ever heard the name Kreacher before, but decided that he hadn't. While his parents followed Mr. Black right away, Neville trailed behind, looking over the place they were having dinner before they attended mass that night. He wasn't really sure why they attended mass every Christmas Eve; his mother had always said something about her friend Lily and honouring her memory or something.

His eyes took in the pictures that lined the mantle above the fireplace where they had exited the Floo. There were several pictures of his parents with Mr. Black and Mr. Lupin and another couple. Pictures of Nymph and her parents also were up there. But one picture in particular made Neville take a closer look.

The sight of the dark unruly hair combined with glasses made Neville pause. He searched his memory, knowing he had seen someone who looked like that before, but was unable to place it. The boy in the picture had one arm thrown over the shoulder of a younger looking Sirius Black, who, in turn, had his arm thrown over the shoulder of a younger looking Remus Lupin.

"Hey there, Nev? You coming in to eat?" Nymph asked her younger friend. She crossed to where he stood in front of the fireplace. Sensing his attention on the pictures, she turned to look at them. She grimaced, seeing the one of her with her parents right before she boarded the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Pointing at it with her finger, she whispered, "I really wish Cousin Sirius would burn this one."

"What, you don't like having pictures where your hair cycles through the colours of the rainbow on display?" Neville said with a smirk.

She narrowed her eyes and pointed at him. "Oh, don't think that I can't get you for that comment there, Nev. While I might not yet be able to perform magic outside of school, it won't be long. Plus, your mum's a great teacher for showing us how to defend ourselves." She waggled her eyebrows at her friend. "So what were you looking at?"

"What makes you think I wasn't looking at the photo of you with your multi-coloured hair?" Neville teased.

"Because you hadn't even noticed it before I mentioned it. I saw how your eyes widened when I pointed it out, meaning you hadn't seen it before. So which one was it?" she responded with calm.

He pointed to the still picture of the boy, Sirius and Remus. "Do you notice that it doesn't move? Very strange. I've never seen a photo like that before."

"Hmm. I've never noticed that picture before. I know that's Sirius and I think that's Mr. Lupin, but I'm not sure who the other one is." She tilted her head, looking over all of the picture.

"That's James, Sirius' and my other best friend. The picture doesn't move because it was taken with a Muggle camera." Both Nymph and Neville spun around to face the door, only to see Remus Lupin push his body off the doorjamb. He crossed to the picture and picked it up, running his finger over the faces. "This was taken the day we left for Hogwarts. We had met each other on the train when we sat together in the same compartment. It only took one train ride and bam, we were the best of friends." He looked very introspective. "No matter what we found out about each other, nothing could separate us, at least not until one of us, who isn't in the picture, mind you, sold the others out." He looked down at his hands.

"I would almost swear that I've seen that boy before," Neville said slowly. "But I can't remember where."

"You wouldn't have seen James. He died over eight years ago." Remus had a look of pure heartbreak on his face. Evidently, trying to change the subject away from such a morbid topic, he offered his arm to Nymph. "Shall we head into dinner?"

Neville hid his laughter behind his hand when Nymph's hair turned a vivid red hue before settling back down to its normally bubblegum pink.

* * *

Harper Place

Harry looked back over his shoulder at the scene in the room he was leaving. All the other children from his floor were gathered around Miss Stephens to listen to her read beside the Christmas tree. Very soon they would all be going to bed to wait for Father Christmas to make an appearance. Harry knew that now would be the only time he could sneak away to check out that wardrobe that he and Mena had found during hide and go seek the other day. Mena was completely enraptured with the story that Miss Stephens was reading. Normally he would be the same way, but something seemed to be calling to him from upstairs, breaking his concentration from the reading. Besides, he knew that Miss Stephens would let him borrow the book to catch up.

Harry loved the fact that he had learned how to be so quiet as to not disturb anyone. It allowed him to slip through the halls of his school without notice by Chase and his pals. His feet covered in thick socks tiptoed their way up the stairs without making a sound. Crossing to the doorway of the room that housed the wardrobe, he paused for a moment, trying to remember why Mena had said that she had pulled him from the room.

_That's right_, he thought. _She thought there was something terrible in there_. She hadn't heard the voice promising treasure to him. He wanted that treasure more than anything. If he could get the treasure, then he would be able to get Mena a Christmas present, a good one, not like the one he had managed to get her this year. He laughed at himself disparagingly. The hair combs that awaited Mena's opening the next morning seemed so little in comparison to the friendship that she had offered him from the moment they had met. If he could get this treasure, he would be able to change that.

Determined, he strode into the room and threw the door to the wardrobe open. At first glance, there was nothing in there, but a small wooden box. Harry was disappointed, but then thought that maybe the box contained a jewel or something. When his hand touched the box, two snakes slithered their way up his arm, causing him to freeze where he stood. A slightly larger snake slid down and out of the wardrobe and to his feet. It started talking.

'_And what do we have here?_ _This doesn't look like our master,' _the snake hissed. Harry was shocked that the snake was talking to him, but then he remembered his trip to the zoo a few years ago. Thinking quickly, he thought about trying to talk to the snakes.

"No, I'm not your master, but I heard there was treasure in here," he said in response. Apparently his try to talk to them worked as all three of the snakes slid back into the wardrobe and wrapped themselves around the box.

'_There's no treasure here of any worth to you, child. If anything, there's mortal peril that lies ahead for you if you continue along this path.'_

"What do you mean- mortal peril? I don't know those words," the young boy replied.

'_Just trust us. You don't want to tangle with the...' _

"HARRY!" Mena screamed. He turned to see her in the doorway with Miss Stephens right behind her with a calculating look on the older woman's face.

"Harry, please just close the door and come away from there, PLEASE!" Mena pleaded with him, almost in tears.

He whispered to the snakes, "Sorry to close you back up." Then he shut the door to the wardrobe and closed the distance between himself and the two ladies at the doorway to the room. Mena threw her arms around him once he got close enough. He figured that she refused to actually go into the room. He didn't see what was so bad about the snakes.

"Oh, thank goodness, you're alright. I saw those snakes on you and then I heard you hissing again. Harry, you scared me so much. Please, don't ever come up here again," Mena pleaded with him.

"Mena, I'm fine. The snakes weren't going to harm me," Harry answered.

"Harry, how are you sure about that? They're snakes," Miss Stephens stated.

"They were just talking to me."

"Harry, please promise me that you will NEVER come up here without me or another adult ever again." Miss Stephens had her authoritative face on, which made Harry know that he couldn't get around answering her.

"Yes, miss."

"Yes, miss, what, Harry?"

"I promise."


	46. Resignations, Rescues and Revelations?

A/N: Thanks to all who have been reading and reviewing! This is a much longer chapter than normal. Only five more left. Then I have to start planning out the sequel. Thanks to Jonelle for her beta work,! This is now officially betaed. *grin* I've already written the next scene in the next chapter too. *grin*

Chapter 45-Resignations, Rescues and Revelations?

July 1990—Leaving Feast, Great Hall, Hogwarts Castle

"It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Professor Longbottom will not be returning as our Defence Against the Dark arts instructor. I'm sure that we all wish her all the best in the future. It looks like I'll be searching for another professor yet again," Headmaster Dumbledore proclaimed before dismissing the students to leave.

Nymphadora Tonks looked across the Hufflepuff table toward her friend Charlie Weasley, who was sitting at the Gryffindor table. She didn't understand why her favourite teacher was leaving. She needed Professor Longbottom to help her get into Auror school. Watching the rest of her classmates file out the door, she nodded toward Charlie before rising to intercept the professor.

"Nymphadora," she greeted with a smile. "I shall miss working with you. I'll probably be calling on you for child minding services soon." Nymph caught her rubbing a hand across her stomach, but didn't think anything of it.

"I don't understand, Professor," Nymph started before the older woman cut her off.

"No more of this Professor bit. It's Alice now. I'm not your professor anymore." She looked at Nymph quizzically. "What don't you understand?"

"Why?" The words simply burst from Nymph's lips. "Why are you leaving? Finally we get the best professor for Defence since I came to Hogwarts and now you're leaving! How am I going to get into Auror school now?"

"Nymph, calm down. You could get into the school right now without much more. Admittedly, that's mostly due to your Metamorphmagus abilities. Still, you won't need much more next year to have you up to snuff. As for why, well, I'm pregnant again. I figured it was best that I have Headmaster Dumbledore look for a replacement now, rather than in January when I'm due. I really shouldn't be participating in duels, mock ones or not, while I'm carrying a baby."

"Oh, well." Tonks bit her lower lip. "I guess I can understand that. It's just that I'm going to miss you, you know. Who am I going to run to with crazy, off-the-wall ideas now? You know that Professor Sprout is much too practical."

Nymph didn't know how she did it, but Alice managed to say the next statement with a completely straight face.

"Well, you could always go to Professor Snape."

Nymph blanched and vehemently shook her head. "That would be even worse than trying to explain to Professor Sprout."

"Um, Nymph, don't you have a carriage to catch?" Alice asked.

"Oh, I have my broom. I'll make the train station, no worries. But I should be going. I'll see you soon?" she asked tentatively, not knowing what her professor had planned next.

"Soon, Nymph, promise."

August 1990—Pleasant Rook

Ron looked up from his hand of cards to see Mrs. Lovegood exit the kitchen. He paused for a moment, looking at her outfit. He had never noticed her wear that combination before, but he knew that he had 'seen' it. His eyes widened at the realization that his vision for her was to take place today.

"Luna," he started, unsure of exactly how to word this.

"Luna, Ron, I'll be in my workroom if you need me. Just make sure that you knock first, please," Mrs. Lovegood said breezily, flowing through the room. She had moved so quickly that Ron couldn't even get a word out.

"Luna," he started again before deciding that action spoke louder than words. He stood and stretched before moving out of the room and down the hall to Mrs. Lovegood's workroom. He sharply rapped on the door. Without waiting for her permission to enter, he shoved open the door, causing Luna's mother to rapidly turn around to face the door.

"Ronald! Why didn't you wa—" was all she got out before a bright light exploded in the room, hitting Mrs. Lovegood in the back shoulder. She fell to the floor with a gasp. Ron rushed to her side, calling her name. Luna dashed in and froze inside the door frame. Her hands went over her mouth as she stared at her mother, who was lying unmoving on the floor.

"Wh-wh-what happened?" Luna asked Ron.

"There was an explosion of some sorts." Then he mumbled, "At least it wasn't as bad as my vision. It didn't hit your mum head-on this time." Turning to her, he stated louder, "Still, I think I should run and get my mum so we can take your mum to St. Mungo's."

"Here, go by Floo," Luna said, hurrying toward the fireplace in the workroom. She picked up the bust of Rowena Ravenclaw that housed the powder giving Ron a generous amount with her shaky hands.

He stepped through to the living room of the Burrow and yelled for his mother. Molly flew into the room.

"What? What is it, Ron? Why did you come home via Floo?" she demanded, rather than asked.

"Well, you see, do you remember me telling you about my vision about Mrs. Lovegood?" Ron said timidly.

"Yes," Molly answered slowly. Ron knew the moment his mum remembered as her jaw went slack before both hands covered her mouth. "No," she said, shaking her head.

"Mum," he tried to reassure her. "It didn't happen that way, but she's still hurt. I think we need to get her to St. Mungo's. Let's go."

Knowing that Charlie would take care of Percy and the twins, Molly followed Ron back to Pleasant Rook where she quickly pulled out her wand and levitated Pandora in front of her. Ron stood back away from the path and grabbed Luna's hand to pull her out of the way. Luna was so caught up in worrying about her mother that she not only didn't notice that her best friend went rigid while holding her hand, but failed to see the light sky blue points of light radiating from their joined hands.

St. Mungo's Waiting Room

After his mother made him promise not to wander around the hospital and to wait for her right there, Neville watched as she left the room behind the nurse that was escorting her to her healer's appointment. Picking up his herbology book, he started to flip to the page he had left off on when he heard soft sobs. He looked toward the doorway to see a thin blonde girl with one hand rubbing at her eyes while the other arm was firmly wrapped around the waist of the tall redheaded boy that was guiding her toward a couch against the wall. For some reason, he felt drawn to get closer to the pair.

Neville gripped his book tighter in his hand, holding the bookmark firmly against the page so he wouldn't lose it before standing and stretching out his neck. He walked over to an armchair with a higher back on which he could rest his head that just so happened to be beside the couch where the two had seated themselves.

"Luna," he heard the boy call the girl. "It will be okay. Your mum will be fine. You'll see." The boy was rubbing her shoulder gently. The sobs, which had been fairly quiet, lessened even further.

"Do you really think so, Ron? How can you be so sure?" Luna stated with tears still welling in the corner of her eyes. "Does this have something to do with what you said earlier about a vision or something?"

"Luna, do you remember when we went to Brighton? And I collapsed on the pier?" Ron murmured just loud enough that Neville barely heard him.

"Yes," Luna said, sniffing. Neville recalled the handkerchief that his mother had forced on him before leaving Longbottom Manor that morning. While he wanted to offer it to the girl, he also wanted to hear the rest of what the boy was going to say.

"Well, what I didn't tell you is that I started having visions that day. Over time, I figured out that whenever I touch someone skin to skin, I have a vision about them. That day in Brighton, I had one about your mum. Luna, that vision was about the accident today, except in my vision she died."

Neville didn't know how he managed it, but the gasp that threatened to escape his mouth was somehow stifled. It wasn't just what Ron said that caused Neville shock. More, it was the fact that Neville knew that Ron wasn't lying about the visions. He turned, with his book still out in front of him as cover, to where he could see the pair.

Luna's eyes appeared to be about to jump out of their sockets. She spluttered, "But, but, whatever do you mean, Ronald?"

"I saw her in the outfit she was wearing today, working on the wand movements with different spells. An orange light flew out of her wand and backfired on her. Today, however, I interrupted her so it didn't happen in quite the same order," Ron answered her.

She appeared to be looking at him very intensely, almost as if trying to read whether or not he was telling the truth. Neville wanted to scream at her that Ron was indeed telling the truth, but knew that doing so probably wouldn't go over well.

"So, have you had a vision about me?" Luna asked.

"Well, yes, this morning actually, but yours was different than normal. Not that I'm too shocked at that." He grinned at her while she rolled her eyes at him. "But like when I saw Ginny, my sister, and the other strange vision I had while we were at Wizarding West Pier, it wasn't a time that you got hurt. In fact, it was of us at the train station next year. I think I was leaving for Hogwarts."

"Okay," Luna said, stretching the word out. "So why would your vision of me be different? Hmmm... I wonder if it has anything to do with our gifts?"

"What do you mean _our _gifts?" Ron asked hotly.

"Well, I have one too. It's just not as easily explained as you with your visions. I can tell..." She stopped, evidently searching for the words. "Whether someone means well, I guess is the best way to put it."

"Means well? Huh?" Ron retorted, echoing the thought running through Neville's mind.

"For instance, when your brothers, the twins, offered me one of those candies, I knew not to take it because I knew that they were up to no good," Luna answered.

"Kind of like a lie detector?" Ron queried. Neville couldn't manage to contain this gasp as Ron so succinctly summed up Neville's own gift. The pair looked over to where Neville was sitting. "Listening in on private conversations, are we?" Ron said with a glare.

Luna just tilted her head and looked at him. Neville blushed under the intense scrutiny, but when Luna sniffed once more, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the handkerchief. Leaning over, he presented it to the blonde.

"Here, I couldn't help but notice that you looked like you needed this. Luckily for you, my mother always makes me carry one," Neville offered. She gave him a shy, hesitant smile before grasping the white square between her dainty fingers. "My name is -."

Ron cut him off with a gasp. "You're Neville Longbottom."

"How in Merlin's name did you know that?" Neville asked.

"One of those visions that I'm sure you overheard us talking about. I saw us meeting on the train to Hogwarts," he answered. Almost as if talking to himself, Ron continued, "So how does this change that vision? And who exactly did I run into?"

"How do you remember all of your visions?" Neville asked the other boy.

"Well, I...uhh..." He looked to Luna for help.

"Ron," Luna tugged on his sleeve. "He's okay. He 'means well', if you understand what I'm saying."

"Ah. Are you sure?" Getting the nod from Luna, Ron turned back to Neville. "Oh, I write them down in a journal so I can remember them."

"I'm Luna and this is Ron," the girl interjected. After Luna had discreetly wiped her eyes and nose with the handkerchief using her left hand, she reached out with her right to shake his. Ron simply waved. "Excuse my friend, Ron. He doesn't like to shake hands. Anyway, thanks for the handkerchief," Luna responded.

When their hands met, an intense white glow overpowered the room, extending out and down the corridor. The nurses at the nearby station rushed down the hallway to the waiting room, only to discover three children sitting and chatting as if they had known each other forever.

Northcott Mouth, Cornwall

Miss Stephens held Ivie and Fiona's hands as they crossed the carpark to go down to the beach that was lined with small pebbles and sand. "So the orphanage hasn't brought children here in over fifty years," she told her charges.

"But why? It's so beautiful here with the breeze and the sand," Mena commented.

"I'm not sure really," Miss Stephens responded. "I know that Ms. Thomas's grandmother, Mrs. Cole was the matron here at the time. There was evidently an incident with some of the children so they never returned. Ms. Thomas had travelled here with her mother and loved it, like you, Mena." She smiled warmly at the girl. "So she decided that it was time to revive the tradition."

With that, the group reached the sandy part of the beach and began to spread their things out. Miss Stephens laid her towel out in the centre of the group, propping her beach umbrella up behind her to block the sun before pulling out her book. Most of the other children pulled out their beach toys to create sand castles.

After Harry and Mena had placed their towels down side by side, they sat down just long enough to take off their trainers. They then wandered away from the group, walking along the shoreline, hand-in-hand. The waves crashed up onto the shore and nipped at their feet, causing Mena to push against Harry's shoulder to force him to move a little farther away from the water. Harry just laughed and would tease her about not wanting to get her feet wet. Every so often, Mena would pull on Harry's hand to get him to stop so she could pick up a shell or a rock.

"Harry," Mena started, ending their congenial silence.

"Yes, Mena?"

"School's starting soon." She had a very unsettled look on her face. Harry dropped her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulder.

"What is it, Mena?"

"Well, it's just that this is the last year that we'll be in school together. All the boys go to ATS and well, I just don't know what I'll do without you at school with me," Mena said.

"Mena, we live in rooms next door to one another. Regardless of whether we're in the same school or not, you'll see me every day. Now really what is this about?" Harry attempted to reassure his best friend.

She shrugged before answering. "I just have this feeling that everything is going to change next year. I don't know how to explain it. I don't know if I even can. I guess I'm just so used to having lunch with you every day and being able to look for you in the hallways."

"Mena, it's okay. Quit borrowing trouble. We still have a whole year to be together." Deciding that he needed to get her mind off of school and the coming year, he tugged on her hand. "Come on, enough of this gloom and doom. It really isn't like you to be like this. You're acting more like I normally do, but we're on vacation in this beautiful place. You know, there's bound to be caves in the cliffs over there. Maybe they were once used by pirates. We could possibly find treasure. What do you think, shall we go look?" His mouth spread in a huge grin while his eyes twinkled with mischief and excitement.

"Well, I guess so," Mena said nonchalantly.

The two crept along the edge of the cliffs. When they came across the mouth of a cave, both of them cautiously ventured into it, searching for anything unusual. They found some fossils and interesting rocks, but no pirate treasure, to Harry's umbrage.

"Harry, let's go back. I'm getting tired. We can just go back and sit on our towels. I promise I won't try to force you into the water. Please?" Mena implored her best friend.

"Just one more. This one feels different somehow." Harry paused at the entrance. "There's a sort of crackle in the air. Do you feel it?"

"Harry, this feels strange. We need to leave. Right now!" She tugged on his hand, trying to move him away.

"But, Mena, I can feel it. There's some sort of treasure here." He started to go in, but Mena caught both of his hands in hers and pulled him around to look at her. Their hands started glowing a bright red once more.

"Harry! This doesn't feel right. There may be treasure, but I'm not willing to risk you or me to get it. I've lost enough in my life, don't you think?" she said slowly and deliberately, knowing that she could convince him if she reminded him of her past. He rolled his eyes and gave in by heaving a great sigh. Mena dropped his hands before either of them noticed the red glow. Turning, they left the base of the cliffs to walk back along the shore.

"Only because it's you. But just remember this, the next time you ask me for anything, understand?"

"Yes, Harry."


	47. Parting Ways

A/N: Thanks to my super fabulous beta, Jonelle, who helps so much with this that none of you could ever know how much I owe her. Whether it's remembering details like house-elves' names (that I created mind you) or simply helping me remember canon, she's always there to help. *grin* Thanks to all who are reading. I'm so shocked that I now have over 100,000 hits to this story. Only four more chapters left in this one.

Chapter 46—Parting Ways

September 1990—Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom

"Your name is Nymphadora and you want to be an Auror?" the new professor asked Nymph on the first day of class.

"Yes, but how does my name have anything to do with me becoming an Auror?" she asked, puzzled.

The grizzled grey haired man swung around and looked her over. "I've heard nothing but good things about you, and yet already you're showing to be slow on the uptake. Tell me, do you know what a nymph is?"

"Of course. My mother repeatedly told me the stories about wood nymphs during my childhood, but why?" she asked the older Auror.

"Because who would ever be scared of a nymph? A large part of being an Auror is being a big, bad, scary wizard or witch. Alice Longbottom scares even Dumbledore. Why? Because of her reputation and her ability to back it up. But she didn't get that reputation overnight and I guarantee that she didn't go around calling herself Alice either." He turned to stalk his way to the front of the class. "She knew that the name Alice is identified too much with that book that Charles Dodgson had to go and publish in the Muggle world. How in Merlin's name the Ministry managed to keep that one from revealing us all, I'll never know."

It was right then that Nymphadora Tonks decided that no longer would she be called Nymph. Thereafter, she was only to be called Tonks.

July 1991—Hogswarts Express

Tonks sat, lost in thought, staring blindly out the window at the Hogsmeade train platform. It seemed impossible that she could be riding the Express for the last time. How had seven years passed so fast? Memories flashed in front of her eyes. A voice cut through her thoughts in a replay of a scene that had taken place on her very first train ride.

"Excuse me?" the deep voice said. "But could I sit here?" Tonks looked up to see the well-built, stocky redhead that she called one of her best friends leaning against the open door to the compartment.

"Why not? After all, it's only fitting that we share a compartment on our last ride together on the Hogwarts Express since we shared our first. Come in and sit down, Charlie," Tonks invited with a laugh and a smile.

"So what have you been up to lately? I haven't seen much of you," Charlie questioned while he stored his trunk on the shelf above the seat. Her thoughts drifted to how they both had struggled to lift their trunks up on their first ride.

"Isn't it fabulous to just be able to use magic to lift that for you now? Not that you need any help, Mr. Brawny." Focusing on what he had asked her, she then responded, "I've been around, mostly in the Hufflepuff common room, studying." Charlie had just taken a seat when the train started moving, but neither really even noticed.

"Nym-" he started, but seeing the ire in her eye, quickly backpedalled. "Tonks." She gave a curt nod. "N.E.W.T.s were over two weeks ago. Why in Gryffindor's name were you studying?"

"Well, I have to be up on my hexes and curses for Auror school, don't I?" she said with a wide smile.

"You got in?" Charlie marvelled.

"I got in, thanks to Alice and Professor Moody's references. I can't believe I'm going to be able to fulfil the dream I've had since I found my mother collapsed on the sidewalk in front of the orphanage. Well, enough about me. What about you? Where are you going to be next year? At the ministry?" she queried.

"No, can you see me as a Ministry man? Much to my mother's dismay, I'm going to be working in Romania," Charlie responded.

"Romania? You're taking one of my best friends off to Romania? Why? That's so far away," Tonks complained. "Who am I going to go to for a night out when I need to unwind?"

"Oh, I don't know, but what about going to your cousin Sirius's? I'm sure that there's someone there that you would love to take out and maybe even take home," Charlie teased with a leer.

"Charlie Weasley!" Tonks replied, hitting her best friend on the arm. Of course the hit didn't seem to faze him. Deciding that she should let that one slide, she asked again, "So what are you going to be doing in Romania?"

"I'm going to be a dragon handler at one of the preserves. I leave Monday," he replied.

"So soon? Charlie, you will keep in touch, right?" Tonks asked in a small voice. For the last seven years, Charlie had been like an older brother who was always there whenever she needed and sometimes when she didn't. She had tried not to allow her fears to overcome her, but Charlie was always able to talk her down when she needed it and remind her what she was working toward.

"Absolutely. So when's Auror school start for you?"

"Not until the end of August. In the meantime, I'll be minding Alice's children, including the new baby, Christina Lily." She couldn't stop the smile that overtook her countenance. "She's such an adorable baby. She rarely cries, but when she does, watch out!"

"My little sister was like that," Charlie said softly. Tonks tilted her head to look at him. She hadn't known that he had a little sister. He only ever talked about his brothers. It must have been a sensitive subject for him as Tonks could see his smile falter, so she left it alone.

The rest of the trip was spent in light-hearted conversation that had an overlying feel of melancholy as the occupants realized that this might indeed be the last journey they would ever share in this manner.

July 19, 1991—Harper Place

Mena Frayne burst through the door to her room and threw herself on the bed, burying her head in her pillow. Tears rolled down her face and were absorbed by the pillowcase. Today had been the last day of school for the year. She and Harry would never be at the same school again. They wouldn't be able to have lunch again during the school day. While Harry had never really stood up for her against Chase and the other bullies per se, just having Harry in the school bolstered her spirits up so much that the bullies were hard pressed to find new ways to try to get her to crack. Mena just knew that now everything was going to change.

July 22, 1991—Deputy Headmistress's Office, Hogwarts

"Thank you, Grolly," Minerva McGonagall said, accepting the stack of letters from the house-elf. Ever grateful that Headmaster Dumbledore had acquired a few more house-elves to help her with the sorting of the Hogwarts letter, she started to look over the stack she had been given. The letters that were to be sent to returning students the house-elves went ahead and attached to school owls. The only exceptions were the letters for the students that were to be named Prefects, Head Boy and Girl and the Quidditch captains.

Pulling these letters off the top of the stack, she sorted the different badges and placed them into the envelopes using her wand. After sealing Percy Weasley's envelope to which she had added the Gryffindor prefect badge, she grabbed the rest of the stack of envelopes, knowing these to be the Muggleborn first years' letters. All first year letters to those of pureblood or half-blood status were sent via school owl, but those with no knowledge of the Wizarding world, they required a personal visit from one of the school professors. She and Professor Flitwick typically split the incoming class of Muggleborn students amongst themselves each visiting their half.

With this in mind, she began pacing the envelopes into two piles, based on geographic location. It wasn't until about two-thirds of the way through the stack that her hand paused on an envelope. She let out a loud gasp, throwing her hand up over her heart.

"I've found him. Harry Potter is in London."


	48. Reunions, part I

A/N: Thanks to Manda, for stepping in as pinch hit beta since J's gone on vacation. More is coming soon! Thanks for reading!

Chapter 47-Reunions, part 1

July 22, 1991—Deputy Headmistress's Office, Hogwarts

Minerva took the letter addressed to Harry and slipped it into the pocket of her robes. She refused to allow anyone, namely Dumbledore, to discover where Harry was. She had questioned the headmaster's judgment when he left Harry on the doorstep of his aunt's house, but once Minerva had discovered from Alice Longbottom that Harry was nowhere to be found, well, she wasted no time in proving her mastery of the art of Transfiguration. She wasn't a cat Animagus for no reason. The Transfiguration professor knew how and when to use her claws.

The deputy headmistress finished sorting the stack and headed down to the Charms classroom, certain that she would be able to find Professor Flitwick there and divvy up the responsibilities of delivering the letters. On the way down, she thought about if she should inform Alice and Sirius, but then thought that maybe this wasn't the Harry Potter that she thought it was. No, she decided it was better if she went and saw for herself that it was James and Lily's son before informing anyone else.

July 24, 1991—Harper Place

While celebrations over entrance letters took place at the Burrow and Longbottom Manor, Minerva McGonagall was trying to figure out how to explain to one Harry Potter that he was a member of the Wizarding world and should have been all along. Deciding that she'll just have to play it by ear, she strode up to the door of Harper Place and knocked sharply. Adjusting the collar of the Muggle jacket that she was wearing, though she wondered why anyone would wear something so constrictive, she waited impatiently. It wasn't too long before the door was opened and Minerva let out a huge gasp.

"Calliope?"

"Aunt Minnie? Is it really you? What are you doing here?" Janet Stephens asked the older lady. A dawn of recognition covered her face. "You're bringing Harry his Hogwarts letter, aren't you?"

Seeing a face that she hadn't seen in almost fifteen years, Minerva's mind froze and trapped her in memories of her best friend, Ellen Meadows and her husband. Visions flashed before her eyes- the Dark Mark floating over the house; the open, unseeing eyes of Ellen and David; their lifeless bodies lying in the hallway. Emotions threatened to overwhelm the normally well controlled witch. Drawing on all of her reserves, she closed off those thoughts until a time when she was alone and could deal with them.

"Calliope?" she questioned her own eyes, wondering if it was indeed the Squib granddaughter of her best friend, Ellen. "Is this where you've been all this time? What is this place?" She looked about her, taking in the four-story structure.

"Where are my manners?" Janet said, shaking her head. "Come in, come in. We can go up to my floor to talk." The floor mother turned and led Minerva up the stairs into the playroom. As she followed Janet, Minerva was careful to note the decor. It was a clean place with tasteful things placed around, but there was a definite feel of children that exuded from the atmosphere.

"Now, to answer your questions, Aunt Minnie. Yes, it's really me, although I go by Janet now." The two women sat down on the loveseat, facing one another.

"That's why I couldn't find you," Minerva muttered to herself. Janet didn't hear this and continued in her answers.

"This is Harper Place, an orphanage. When I made the decision to live in the Muggle world, I was terrified, but I knew that I was in much more danger by trying to stay in the Wizarding one. I had no means of defence, not after what happened to Nana and Grandpa. I figured that if I found a place with children that they wouldn't question what I didn't know and I would be able to learn to survive while the children did," Janet explained.

"I would have taken care of you, Calliope. Your grandmother would have wanted me to. I've looked for you ever since that night, but no one ever knew where you went. Pandora could only tell me that you had written her and that she couldn't blame you for running, knowing how your parents treated you," the older woman replied.

"Aunt Minnie, I..." Janet trailed off. Minerva reached a hand out and grasped Janet's. "I was there when it happened." Minerva gasped. She had never guessed that the young girl would have been there when it happened and that she managed to survive. "Nana shoved me in the hall cupboard when they barrelled through the doors. How it was that they didn't see me, I'll never know. I saw what happened and heard their pleas for mercy. But that monster," she paused. "He could never be merciful. He kept asking them about Charley or something. I couldn't figure out what it was he was asking for."

"Arley? Could he have been trying to find your grandmother's cousin, Arley?" Minerva wondered aloud.

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of pounding feet on the stairs.

"The children are back from their swimming lessons. I'm assuming you're here for Harry as Mena's not old enough yet," Janet stated. The opening and closing of doors could be heard behind them. Minerva was gobsmacked to realize that she had indeed forgotten the purpose of her visit.

"Mena? Who is Mena?" Minerva asked.

"Harry's best friend," Janet said, smiling.

"She's magical too?"

Janet nodded. "And Hermione."

"Hermione Granger? She's on my list to visit tomorrow, but the quill said she's in Oxford," Minerva said, baffled.

"Oh, she is. Mena and to a much lesser extent Harry have become friends with her. They met at the British Museum, if I remember correctly. Hermione's travelled with us quite a few times."

"And they're all magical? Are you sure?"

Janet looked at Minerva exasperatedly. "Aunt Minnie, while yes, I'm a Squib, I did grow up with Pandora, who more than lived up to her name. Plus, we were good friends with Sirius Black. I know accidental magic when I see it, although I wondered since there was never an Accidental Magic Reversal Squad sent."

Minerva looked at Janet with eyes wide. "Was there ever exposure?"

"I always explained it away. Luckily, it was always around other children. Do you want me to go get Harry?" Janet asked.

"Yes, please."

The younger woman left the room while Minerva slumped against the back of the loveseat, stunned at the news she had received. Yet, the sight that met her eyes as Janet reappeared with two children had her gasping in complete shock.

"Ginny Weasley?"


	49. Discovery

A/N: Many thanks as always to my beta Jonelle! She keeps me motivated. Thanks to all those who have been reviewing! Getting reviews in my inbox is so much fun. I'm still utterly shocked that I have over 500 revies now. Enjoy and just know that I know I'm evil...

Chapter 48-Discovery

July 24, 1991—Harper Place

"Ginny Weasley?"

Mena looked at the stern-faced woman, who sat in the playroom. She had been puzzled as to why Miss Stephens had asked Harry to join her in the playroom. So Mena had decided to follow along behind them. Now the woman was calling out weird names. Looking around and seeing no females, other than Miss Stephens, the young girl wondered who it was the woman was referring to.

"No, Aunt Minnie, this is Mena Frayne, the one I told you about, Harry's best friend," Miss Stephens stated.

"While you might know her as Mena, I can assure you that girl is a Weasley." Mena mouthed the name Weasley to herself. It didn't exactly roll off her tongue. The woman continued, "I taught her father, her mother and five of her brothers so far. Even had all of them in my house." _House? What is this woman talking about? Wait, Miss Stephens seems to understand her,_ Mena thought. "There's no doubt in my mind that she's a Weasley, not with that particular shade of red. As there's only been one girl Weasley in the last few generations, she must be Ginny," the older woman declared.

Mena's mind got stuck on the words: father, mother and five brothers.

"Excuse me, did you say five brothers? You knew my parents?" Mena asked. She vaguely was aware of Miss Stephens getting up to investigate the noise coming from the other rooms on the floor.

"Not knew, child. Know, I know your parents. And yes, I said five brothers. Your youngest brother, Ron starts this year so I will have taught all six of your brothers."

"Six brothers? I have a family? Then why am I in here?" Mena asked, very unsure and bewildered, sounding a lot younger than she really was.

"That I do not know," Minerva said calmly. "But I know who does and I'll take you to her once I'm done with Harry."

Mena startled. She had forgotten all about her best friend. Turning around, she saw Harry in the corner of the room, eyes glazed over. Her breath caught in her throat. She knew that look. She knew what was happening. Shaking her head, she crossed to stand in front of Harry. Eyes blazing, she let out a sharp whistle exactly like her adopted mum had taught her. The whistle normally drew him out of whatever it was that had captured him in its grasp. This time, though, Harry didn't move a single muscle. Mena didn't know why, but she had always avoided touching Harry whenever he was like this. Still, nothing else was working.

She grabbed his hand in hers.

HPGWHPGWHPGWHPGWHPGWHPGW

After Aunt Minnie explained that Mena had to be Ginny Weasley, Janet heard a commotion out in the hallway. She immediately went to check it out, even though she wanted to know more about what would happen with both Harry and Mena. The echoing sounds of weeping were coming from Ivie and Fiona's room. Edward and Carter were in the hallway, arguing over something.

"What is going on here?" she demanded from her charges.

"He cheated, Miss Stephens!" Carter replied almost spitting at Edward.

"Boys! Is this necessary? Over what? A card game? Really?" she stated.

"I didn't cheat. I won, fair and square. He just can't accept that he lost," Edward said, glaring at Carter.

"All right, Edward, to your room. Carter, go to Harry's room and wait for me there. I need to check on Fiona and Ivie." When the two boys failed to start moving toward their destinations, Janet stepped behind the two boys and gave them a light slap to the back of their heads. "NOW!"

The two boys scattered, headed toward where Miss Stephens had directed them. Janet crossed to Fiona and Ivie's room and gently knocked on the door.

"Girls?" She stuck her head in the door and spied the two girls lying face down on their beds. "What's wrong?" she asked them. Ivie turned her face to look at her.

"It's just so sad," Ivie cried, tears streaming unchecked down her face.

"What is?" Janet questioned as she ran her hand over Fiona's back. Fiona was crying even more than Ivie at this point. She was just puzzled over why they would be crying like this unless something had happened at swim lessons. "Was it something at swim lessons?"

"No, that was fine. I don't know what it is, Miss Stephens, but it's just so sad." Janet so did not look forward to these girls reaching puberty and learning about boys if this was how they were going to react. Heading out of the room, she knew that as much as she longed to go to her room and ponder what she learned that afternoon, she needed to return to Harry and Mena, Ginny, Mena. She would have to work on what to call the girl.

The smell of smoke penetrated her thoughts, causing Janet to startle. When she realized it was coming from the playroom, Janet flew down the hall, skidding to a stop just inside the doorway.

Aunt Minnie was slipping her wand back into her pocket while Harry and Mena were staring google-eyed at her from the corner of the room. Janet was speechless for a moment.

"What happened? Why was there smoke?" Janet demanded. The two children looked terrified at the thought of answering that. Aunt Minnie returned to her seat and delicately crossed her hands in her lap.

"Well, Calliope, it seems that you were right about the accidental magic taking place here. The rubbish bin caught fire suddenly. No matter. I put the fire out," Minerva said matter-of-factly.

"Can you do something to dissipate the smoke, Aunt Minnie? We don't need the alarms going off," Janet requested.

"Oh, right," the witch replied, pulling out her wand once more. With a quick wave, all of the smoke disappeared instantly. As she was replacing her wand, Janet caught sight of both Harry and Mena's wide eyes.

"Wow! How did you do that?" Harry exclaimed, bursting with curiosity. Mena simply nodded, obviously in total agreement with her best friend.

"Wait," Mena said, her eyes narrowing. "What did you mean accidental magic?" Before Janet could try to explain, Aunt Minnie started speaking.

"Mr. Potter, perhaps it's best if I introduce myself. My name is Minerva McGonagall. I'm the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I'm actually here to deliver this invitation to our school." She held out a letter to Harry in a yellowish envelope. Harry crossed to take it from her before stepping back to open it. Janet watched him scan the contents as Mena came forward to look over his shoulder.

"Magic? Like for real magic and not just the illusions that magicians create?" Harry asked.

"Have either one of you ever made things happen that you couldn't explain?" the witch asked.

Both of them looked blankly at the two women.

"Harry, Mena, what about what happened at Brighton? Chase and his cronies were closing in on you and you just disappeared? What do you think that was? That was your magic reacting to the threat it sensed coming." Noticing the startled looks the two were giving her, Janet smiled. "Did you think I didn't know?"

"But, please, Miss Stephens, magic? I mean, sure, you've read us the stories: the King Arthur legends, _Lord of the Rings_, the _Narnia_ series, but you expect us to believe that magic really exists?" Mena said, puzzled.

"It does," Janet answered.

"But where would I get all of this? How would I get all of this? I don't have any money," Harry asked, waving the parchment in his hand. Gently taking it from him, Janet looked over at the list of things required for first years.

"Mr. Potter, may I call you Harry?" At his nod, Minerva continued, "You most certainly do have money for Hogwarts. Your parents, I'm sure, left you everything. Besides, you may not know it, but there are two people who have been scouring the countryside looking for you. They are more than willing to provide for your education."

"Who? Who has been looking for me? I don't understand. My aunt left me here. So why would she be looking for me?" Harry inquired, taking a seat on the floor. Mena sat next to him, taking his hand in hers.

"Your aunt... I can't say anything nice about that woman, so I'm not going to say anything more. No, I'm referring to your godparents, Harry. Sirius Black," At the mention of his name, Janet let out a huge gasp. "and Alice Longbottom have been searching for you ever since your aunt died, maybe even longer."

Visions and thoughts of Sirius threatened to take over Janet's mind, but she forced them to the side in order to follow the rest of the conversation.

"So that's why she broke her promise and never came back for me," Harry muttered just loud enough for Janet to hear. A little louder he said very morosely, "So that's it then. I have no more family."

"Actually, Harry, that's not exactly true," Aunt Minnie stated, looking between Harry on the floor and Janet, who was standing by the door.

"I'm not counting Dudley as family, not anymore," Harry said flatly.

"No, I wasn't talking about Dudley. Your grandfather's father had a sister, Chelsea. That sister had a daughter, Ellen, who grew up and had a little girl of her own. When that little girl grew up, she went on to have three daughters, one of whom you've been living with for how long, Calliope?" Minerva said, turning to Janet.

Harry was speechless while Janet spluttered out, "Wait, are you telling me that Harry and I are related?"

"Indeed. Now, Mr. Potter, do you have any burning questions about Hogwarts before we figure out how to get you to one of your godparents as they are actually your guardians now?" Minerva asked.

"Um... I don't think so. I mean, I can keep the letter, right? Wait, do my godparents know about Hogwarts?" Harry questioned, forehead slightly furrowed.

"Absolutely, they're both graduates, same class as your parents. Any other questions?" she inquired.

"No, not about Hogwarts. Who are you going to take me to, my godfather or godmother?" Harry asked.

"Well, normally, I would say that I would take you to your godfather as your godmother has her hands full at the moment, getting your godbrother Neville's things ready for Hogwarts while keeping up with her other two children. After all, her youngest is only six months old. I doubt you would be able to get much sleep, but alas, I can't find where your godfather lives," Minerva exclaimed with a shrug.

"Oh, but I know where Sirius lives, Aunt Minnie. I could take Harry," Janet offered.

"He lives under a Fidelius Charm, Calliope. How is it that you know where it is?" Minerva asked, clearly mystified at Janet's revelation.

"He lives on the same square as my parents. I knew him growing up," she said with a shrug. "I guess the Fidelius doesn't work in the same way against Squibs."

"What's a Squib, Miss Stephens?" Mena's small melodic voice asked.

"Well, Mena, when someone is born to a family of wizards, but doesn't have magic themselves, they are called Squibs. I'm a Squib because everyone else in my family can do magic, but me," Janet stated plainly. She worked extra hard to make sure that none of her melancholy of the situation bled out into her voice. Janet thought it worked until Mena reached her hand out and laid it on Janet's arm.

"I'm sorry I asked, Miss Stephens," Mena said quietly.

"It's okay, Mena," Janet said, patting her hand. That hand felt ice cold now. She looked over at her Aunt Minnie. "Would you like me to take Harry to Sirius?

"Actually that would work out well. Then I could take Ginny to her parents," Minerva answered.

"Wait, parents? Her parents are alive? Then why is she here?" Janet queried.

"I don't know all the details, but I know that her parents have been looking for her about as long as Harry's godparents have been looking for him. I'm sure that I can get the full story if I take her to their place."

"I'll let the matron know that I've found relatives for Harry and Mena and that I'll return to fill out all the paperwork. You go ahead with Mena. Harry and I will go to Sirius as soon as I'm done with the matron. I'll return to get all of their things together and I'm sure that Sirius will help me deliver Mena's things to her."

With that, Janet scurried out of the room to see the matron. The two friends sitting on the floor looking at one another wondered when they would see each other again. Minerva stood up and gestured to Ginny to stand as well.

"I think it might be best if we Apparate from here. Come here, please, Ginny," the professor beckoned.

The small redhead crossed to the woman and looked back at Harry. His face was full of heartbreak as he watched his best friend ready herself to leave him. Mena threw herself into Harry on the floor and whispered, "I'll always be your best friend, Harry. No matter how far apart. I'll find some way to contact you, I promise."

"I don't know what I'll do without you, Mena," Harry replied in a whisper.

"You'll be fine. Just be yourself," she replied, standing up and stepping back, eyes welling with tears. "I won't say goodbye, because this isn't. So see you soon."

"See you soon, Mena," Harry answered. With that, she laid a hand on Professor McGonagall's arm and they disappeared.

Harry bit his lip, hoping to chase the tears away. Taking several deep breaths, he wondered why this was worse than when his aunt had dropped him off here at Harper Place. Miss Stephens rejoined him in the playroom.

"Harry, let's go find your godfather. I know you're going to love him," Janet said, ushering him out of the building. Harry stopped for a second to look back at Harper Place, wondering if he would ever see the place again. But when Miss Stephens called for him, he hurried to catch up with her.

A couple of tube stops later, Janet was knocking on the door of Grimmauld Place with Harry standing behind her. When the door opened, nothing could have prepared Janet for the sight that met her eyes.


	50. Reunions, part II

A/N: Okay, so I thought I would be able to finish this before I left for England, but as I leave tomorrow!, alas, it isn't getting done. But I'll have two plane rides to write (although I will be sleeping most of the way to London from New York). Still, I will be traveling a lot and am taking my writing supplies with me. I'll be away for two weeks so don't look for updates before August or even replies to your reviews, but I will reply once I return. Thanks to all who are reading and most especially to J for being the fabulous beta she is!

Chapter 49—Reunions, part II

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place

The years had been unbelievably kind to Sirius, creating a sleeker, more defined adult Sirius. Janet's mouth went dry and it wasn't the result of the wand that was aimed between her eyes, either.

"Who are you? How did you find this place?" Sirius demanded. Hearing that deep gravelly voice again jolted her from her speechlessness. She immediately raised her hands, palms out, showing that they were empty.

"Sirius Orion Black! Put your wand down! It's me, you brainless idiot! I'm _wand_less, so there's no way that I could hurt you, even if I tried. Really! As to how I found this place, why wouldn't I be able to find a place that I've been coming to for over twenty years?" She added in a much lower voice, "Even if I haven't been here in about fifteen?"

He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing her every feature. "Who are you?" he said much softer than before, lowering his wand.

"I don't know why I expected _you_ to recognize _me_. But, really, Sirius, I gave you multiple clues. I'm wandless, not saying that I left my wand at home," Janet said with a sigh, her hands lightly slapping the sides of her legs as she dropped them.

"Calliope?" Sirius whispered with such a disbelieving tone that Janet doubted he even believed it himself. She merely nodded until he said it again only slightly louder, but still just as questioning.

"Yes, Sirius, it's me, although I go by Janet now. I recently, as in today, discovered that I've been taking care of something you've been looking for or rather someone," Janet replied.

"Harry?" Sirius said, eyes wide. He gripped her upper arms in his hands and asked, "Where is he? You know where he is?"

Janet felt Harry move behind her. His head popped out around her right side. "Miss Stephens, why can I hear him, but not see him?" Sirius' hands fell to his sides as he stared at the little dark-haired boy.

"Magic, Harry. Sirius, are you the Secret-keeper?" Seeing his nod as he was still stunned at the sight of his godson, she snapped her fingers in front of his face. "Then please tell the boy where he is so that he can actually _see_ you and not just my skirt!"

Sirius dropped to his knees and slowly drew Harry into his arms. Placing his lips at one of Harry's ears, he whispered, "Sirius Black lives at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place."

Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon

Mena trailed behind the older woman down a dusty country lane, thoughts jumbled and whirling madly in her head. Fear over not knowing what was to come warred with the excitement of possibly finding a family, her family. Throughout Mena and Harry's lives at Harper Place, the one dream they had shared was finding their family. Now it seemed like both of them had this dream fulfilled. That was, of course, assuming that this woman was correct in her assumption that she was this Ginny Weasley.

"Um, Miss?" Mena said, before biting her lower lip.

"Ginny, you may call me Professor McGonagall or simply Professor. It's what I'm used to. Besides, I daresay you'll be in my classes at Hogwarts soon enough," the older lady stated.

"How can you be sure that I'm this Ginny Weasley?" Mena said, shaking her head and shrugging.

"Because I taught both your mother and your father. Your hair is almost the exact shade of your mother's and just a shade off the majority of your brothers. But your eyes... your eyes are just like your dad's. Arthur Weasley had incredible deep dark brown eyes. Then there's the fact that you're magical," the woman explained.

"But how do you know I'm magical?" Mena asked plaintively. "You said something earlier about accidental magic? But I don't understand."

"When magical children are growing up, their magic is mostly untapped and unfocused. You see, our wands help focus our magic, but still there are times that our magic works without wands. This is most often the case when our emotions are heightened, especially when we're young and don't have as much control. If you're angry or scared, things can happen. Your magic can make them happen."

Mena thought about that for a while. "But I don't know that anything like that has ever happened. Well, other than the time that Harry and I did manage to go from one pier to another in an instant, but what's to say that it wasn't Harry and not me?"

"Oh, you are a thinker. I can't wait to have you in my classroom. Well, if you can't think of a time when you've done something that you couldn't explain, then have you ever seen something that you couldn't?" the older woman asked.

"You mean, like the purple three-story bus that appeared with a BANG by our bus stop one day?" Mena queried, wondering if that was what the woman meant or not.

"Exactly. You saw the Knight Bus," Professor McGonagall replied with a smile.

"But it was during the day," Mena responded.

"No, knight as in k-n-i-g-h-t. It's a form of Wizarding transportation. Muggles don't see it. It just furthers that you are who I say you are, Ginny Weasley. Now, here's The Burrow. This is where your family lives."

The older woman stepped aside and let Mena look at the place. Near the entrance road stood a sign proclaiming the name of the home, The Burrow. Her eyes followed the path from the gate to the house, if one could call it that. Mena was amazed that it didn't fall over actually, seeing as there were rooms or floors that seemed to be tossed on the top and side of the previous ones. It reminded her of the block buildings that Carter and Edward would build in the playroom when they were younger. Harry's buildings were always too neat to be like this, but then he hated seeing things destroyed. Carter and Edward had deliberately built theirs to fall over at the slightest touch.

The squawk of the chickens brought her back to the present. She started to worry what they would think. _Would they recognize her? Would they want her? Why was she in the orphanage in the first place?_ She started twisting her fingers around one another and biting her lower lip. Mena followed the professor as she strode down the path to the door and firmly knocked.

London

Harry followed Miss Stephens out of the Tube station and down the street. He was glad she knew where she was going because he had no clue as to where he was. They crossed a square and stood in front of a row of houses. Harry looked to his left and saw number eleven. Looking to his right, he saw number thirteen. He wondered if the even numbers were on the other side of the street until he noticed number fourteen a little further down on his right. Miss Stephens took a deep breath.

"Harry, I want you to hold onto my skirt. Look only at it and stay behind me. I'm fairly certain that Sirius, your godfather will recognize me, but there's a charm on where he lives and I'm not clear how it will affect you since you don't know where it is, like I do," Miss Stephens said, running her hand through Harry's hair, trying to get it to lay down once again. She took a deep breath once more and stepped through. Harry quickly grabbed her skirt as it flowed behind her as she disappeared out of sight. Holding tight, he stepped close behind her and followed her up what seemed like stairs as they rose in elevation. All around him was white like a blank canvas that his art teacher placed on their easel before they started learning about oil painting. The only splotch of colour was Miss Stephens' blue skirt.

Voices sounded like they were coming through the old radio that Carter had found in one of the storage rooms in Harper Place. It was all crackly and hard to hear. But he could tell that the person speaking to Miss Stephens was a male and wasn't too happy to see them. Harry focused as hard as he could on determining the tenor of each voice, making sure that Miss Stephens was safe. His body tensed in preparation. He refused to let anything happen to Miss Stephens. After all, she was the only mother he had ever known.

It wasn't long until he heard the male voice drop the aggressiveness and start sounding more inquisitive. But it wasn't until he heard his name that he relaxed, instinctively hearing the protectiveness in the male voice. He leaned to his right past the end of Miss Stephens' skirt, hoping that they could see him, even though he could see no one.

"Miss Stephens, why can I hear him, but not see him?" He wanted to chuckle when Miss Stephens responded with the word, magic, but then he thought she probably wasn't joking. When something began pulling him forward, he tried with all his might to pull in the opposite direction, but whatever was moving him was too strong. He switched Miss Stephens' skirt to his other hand, desperately trying to hold onto that anchor. If his heart hadn't been in his throat, Harry was sure that he would have asked what was going on, but as it was, nothing, not even air, seemed to be travelling through that part of his body. When a voice echoed in his head, sounding close to his ear, he froze on the spot, shutting his eyes tight, hoping and praying that this would end soon.

Suddenly, Miss Stephens' voice no longer sounded crackly. "Sirius! Can't you see that he's terrified? Let him go." At this, Harry's eyes flew open to discover that a man with shoulder length black hair had his arms wrapped around him. The man pulled back to look at Harry, giving Harry the first chance to see the man's face. His eyes were grey and kind, not at all like Uncle Vernon's eyes. The man slipped his arms from around Harry to gently place both hands on Harry's face, framing it.

"Oh, you look like your father, James. He was my best friend, you know. Had that same hair. Never could tame it," the man said, tears welling in his eyes. He pulled Harry closer and hugged him close, rocking Harry back and forth. "We've been searching for you for so long. I'd despaired that we would never find you. I was almost ready to give up, but your godmother Alice refused." Saying that name, he pulled back and blanched. "I have to Floo her. I have to let her know or else she'll have my head." He stood up and went inside. After a few seconds, his head popped back through the doorway. "Well, are you two coming or not?"

Completely unsure of how to take this man, Harry followed Miss Stephens in the building.

The Burrow

Molly sent the remaining dishes from the celebratory lunch that the family had for Ron after he received his first Hogwarts letter to the sink to be washed. With several waves of her wand, she had cleaned up the majority of her kitchen. Settling herself at the table with all four lists of Hogwarts necessities, Molly summoned parchment, ink and quill. She started two lists. The first list contained items handed down from the older boys. On the next bit of parchment, she wrote what was still needed from Diagon Alley.

A knock rent the air as she was determining on which list to place the telescope. She stood and crossed to the door. Opening, she was surprised to see Minerva McGonagall standing in her doorway.

"Why, Professor! I wasn't expecting to see you today. Come in, come in. What have my boys done now?" Molly gestured for the lady to follow her and turned to go back to the table, pulling her wand to start tea.

As Molly resettled herself, she pushed the parchments out of the way and noticed that a young girl had shadowed the other woman. The girl, who was frantically twisting her fingers, had red hair almost the exact shade of Ron's. It was then that it hit Molly. Ron's 'vision journal' had chronicled a time when Professor McGonagall would arrive with a young girl in tow and that girl would be Ginny. Could it be that after all this time her daughter, her baby had been found? Her breath caught in her throat, making it impossible for her to say anything.

The girl raised her eyes to look at Molly, allowing her a glimpse of brown orbs that pierced her very soul. Arthur's eyes, she had Arthur's eyes. That was the only thought running through Molly's mind. Everything else was blocked out, the dishes crashing down into the sink, the knitting needles falling into the chair, Professor McGonagall's voice, nothing made it through. She glanced at the clock and noted that the smallest hand pointed toward home. Her daughter was finally home.

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place

"Moony! Moony!" Sirius bellowed. "We have guests! Get down here!"

Footsteps thudded down the hardwood stairs. A man with shaggy greying light brown hair descended, coming to a stop at the foot of the stairs, a look of shock spreading across his face.

"Oh, my. Well, there's no denying just who this is, is there? Harry," he breathed.

"Moony, this is Calliope Stephens and you know who the boy is. Can you take them into the kitchen while I contact Alice?" Sirius asked the man, who nodded before gesturing with his arm toward the end of the hall.

"Stephens? Any relations to Pandora?" Remus asked, following Calliope and Harry down the hallway.

"She's my older sister," Janet responded.

"You don't look that much younger than us. Why is it that I never saw you at Hogwarts?" Remus questioned, missing the wince that crossed Janet's face as he opened the door to the kitchen.

"I didn't attend Hogwarts, Mr..." Janet answered.

"I'm sorry. Sirius didn't tell you my name, did he? It's Remus Lupin. Sirius, James and I were best friends since first year of Hogwarts," the man supplied.

"James? But that's my middle name," Harry stated.

"James was your father, Harry. You look almost exactly like him, except for your eyes. You have your mother's eyes," Remus responded quietly.

The Burrow

Mena followed the professor into the house, feeling very small in the small, rather cramped room. She sat on a long, wooden bench that ran parallel to a table that had obviously seen lots of usage, determinedly keeping her eyes on the sugar dish on the tabletop. She really didn't know what she was supposed to feel like or how she was supposed to act. Harry had been so lucky since Miss Stephens went with him while she was surrounded by strangers really.

Slowly, raising her eyes to look around, she locked eyes with the woman who had answered the door. Tears filled the woman's eyes. A loud crash filled the air. Mena's eyes darted from the woman to the sink, where shards of broken dishes littered the counter next to it. She took in all aspects of the room. Yet, when the woman's gaze turned to the corner, Mena followed her look and paid particular note to the clock there. It wasn't a normal clock. There were nine hands. The young girl stood and came to a stop in front of it, looking closer at each hand. They weren't hands at all, but rather spoons. Each spoon had a picture of someone. Mena assumed they were members of the family since they all had similar shades of red hair. Her eyes focused on the smallest hand, gasping when she saw the face on the spoon was her own. Her mouth moved without any sound escaping. Finally, she regained her voice.

"H-h-how do you have a picture of me?" She interrupted the conversation between the two women with her demand.

The mistress of the house gazed over at her. "Magic. When you were born, we took a drop of your blood with a lock of your hair, combined them with a spoon and a spell to create that hand. Ever since, it's always shown you as you are at that time."

"So then, I am this Ginny Weasley?" she queried, questions racing through her mind so fast that she could barely keep up.

"You are. I'm Molly Weasley, your mother," the woman answered. Mena glanced over at the professor, not sure who she should trust. She longed for Harry and Miss Stephens, but mostly Harry. Knowing that they were not at Harper Place just made her more uncomfortable and uneasy. She wished for something to help calm her and with a pop, a faded old green stuffed dragon appeared in her arms. Mena squeezed it tight. Hearing twin gasps, she turned to see the two women gaping at her in amazement.

"What?" Mena asked.

"Miss Weasley, Ginny, you were wondering if you were magical, well, there's your proof. Bringing that dragon to you- purely magical," Professor McGonagall answered.

Molly had a hand clasped over her mouth. Slowly, she lowered it. "You had that dragon as a baby. Your brother Charlie saved up and bought it for you. I guess I should have known then that he was destined to work with dragons," she said.

"If I'm your daughter as you say, then can you answer me one question?" Ginny asked, staring at Molly, her eyes watery. "Why? Why didn't I grow up here with my family?"

Molly closed her eyes and pulled her lips between her teeth. "Come sit down. We'll have a spot of tea and I'll tell you a story. Hopefully, that will explain some of it."

Mena crossed back to the table and sat once more. The feelings coursing through her were unlike any she had experienced before. Even when she, Hermione and Harry had dined at Ritz Hotel, she wasn't this uncomfortable in the formal atmosphere.

"I guess to begin, I need to go back ten years. It wasn't long after the war ended when I had a visit from a schoolmate of mine, who was also a cousin of sorts." Molly wrapped both hands around her tea cup and brought it to her lips for a sip. "She came with a warning that someone was after my daughter, you," she said, smiling wryly for a moment at Mena before her countenance turned morose once more. "I didn't believe her at first. I thought the war was over and even so, why would anyone want my daughter? I didn't know the cousin well enough to know whether to believe her or not, so I chose to think that I could protect you all on my own." She took another sip before adding a little tea to her cup and stirring in some milk.

"A couple of weeks later, the person I had been warned about showed up here and attempted to take you. Your brothers ended up protecting you where I couldn't. One of your brothers had to be taken to the hospital and I realized then that I couldn't protect you. Not like I wanted.

"I contacted the school mate who had warned me. She had a plan, a way to protect you. She suggested kidnapping you before Bellatrix could. So we staged a kidnapping and placed you in an orphanage where Andi, the friend who warned me, could watch over you for me. Andi volunteered there, you see.

"However, somehow, Bellatrix discovered where you were and arrived there, attacking Andi, causing her to have amnesia for a little while. But when the Aurors got there, you couldn't be found anywhere. There was no paperwork with your real name or the one I created for you. You had disappeared. Ever since then, we've been searching everywhere for you."

Ginny had tears streaking down her cheeks. So it wasn't that she wasn't wanted, it was to protect her all along. "What happens now?" the girl asked.

"Well, you come home," Molly responded. "That is, if you want to."

_Home_, Ginny thought. _But is it really home? Still, Harry probably wouldn't be returning to Harper Place either, so why should she stay?_ "I guess so," the girl said uncertainly, hugging the dragon closer to her body.

Longbottom Manor

Alice took the jar of Floo powder down from the mantle.

"Are you sure that you'll be all right with Evan and Christina?" she asked her husband. Frank nodded. "We could always make it a family outing," she suggested.

"Are you implying that you don't trust me with our children?" Frank asked half-jokingly.

"No," Alice drew out the word. "I trust you. I don't know. I've got a feeling..."

"Not another of your 'feelings'," Frank groaned.

"Hey, those feelings have saved us more than once in our Auror careers, don't forget," Alice retorted, hands on hips.

"True, but I'm not out in the field, am I? We'll be fine, Alice. You and Neville go. Go to Diagon Alley, get Nev's wand and robes. Those are the things that wouldn't be easy to get shopping with Evan and Chrissy." Frank kissed his wife before exiting the room, calling for his oldest son to join his mother at the Floo.

Reaching her hand in for a small amount of powder, she tossed it into the grate without looking. A strangled cough jolted her from her thoughts. Looking where the sound came from, she was shocked to see Sirius' face floating in the green flames.

Her eyes going as wide as possible, she tentatively questioned, "I didn't hit you with the powder, did I?"

Sirius nodded with a sparkle in his eye. Normally, that sparkle meant he was up to something.

"You're going to get me back for that, aren't you?" she inquired timidly.

"Actually, today is such a good day that no, there will be no payback," Sirius said.

"Why? What happened?" She immediately started guessing, not letting him get a word in edgewise. "Have they found a cure for lycanthropy? Oh, I know. They discovered Lucius had been lying all along and have thrown him into Azkaban!"

"ALICE! Just come over here and you can see for yourself," Sirius replied.

Neville walked into the room. "Hey, Sirius!"

"Sirius, Neville and I are about to go into Diagon Alley. Can't this wait?" Alice asked.

"Okay, I'll be sure to tell Harry that his godmother would rather go shopping than see him for the first time in years," Sirius responded dryly.

"What? Harry? Harry's there? Move out of the way. I'm coming through," Alice yelled. As soon as Sirius' head disappeared, Alice had the Floo powder flying. "Grimmauld Place," she called.


	51. Discoveries and Confusion

A/N: Yes, I'm alive. I'm back teaching full-time which gives me little to no time to write. This is not the last chapter like I had originally planned, but I wanted to give you all something, so here it is. Thanks as always to J, my fabulous beta.

Chapter 50—Discoveries and Confusion

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place

"He most certainly does at that!" Alice exclaimed in response to Remus' statement about Harry's eyes being like his mother's. "They were that fabulous colour the very day he was born. Lily and I shared a room at St. Mungo's so I remember the first time I held him that day, he looked straight at me with those intense green eyes. No changing from the traditional blue for our godson, right, Sirius? Unlike my Neville, whose eyes changed from the blue to the dark brown he has now."

The exuberant brunette, followed by her eldest son, stepped into the room a step behind Sirius and eyes firmly on Harry, quickly came to stand in front of the boy. She placed her hands on his shoulders, looking him over before pulling him into a hug. She felt Harry stiffen in her arms so she eased back away from him slowly.

Harry had a petrified look on his face. Alice backed away more, allowing Harry to slip into a seat beside a strange young woman dressed in Muggle clothes.

"Well then, care to tell me, Sirius, how you found Harry?" Alice said, taking a seat on the couch where Sirius was already seated. Neville's eyes darted from seat to seat before he slid into the seat beside Harry.

"I didn't. He found me or rather Calliope did. Alice, this is Calliope Stephens," he answered, gesturing toward the woman seated beside Harry.

"I go by Janet now, Sirius. Calliope sounds too whimsical for someone who doesn't live in the Wizarding world," the woman corrected.

"Stephens? Related to Saffron?" Alice asked, thinking of the relatively new Department of Mysteries worker.

"She's my baby sister," Janet answered.

"So _Janet_," Sirius was sure to emphasize the name, "How did you find us?"

Neville tapped Harry on the knee with his left hand and gestured with his head toward the door.

"Aunt Minnie came to deliver Harry's Hogwarts letter today. She was astounded to see me there, but then to discover _two_ magical children, well, I'm surprised her heart withstood the shock," Janet replied.

Harry contemplated the boy who entered behind the strange woman before turning to gaze at the other occupants of the room. They were caught up in conversation to the point where he didn't think they would notice the two boys leaving the room. Turning his eyes back toward the boy, Harry then realized that while he wasn't as instantly comfortable as he had been when he met Mena, there was something about the boy that made Harry trust him.

"Oh, you mean you had Ginny, I mean Mena there, too?" Alice queried, mind racing at the thought of the searches truly being over.

None of the adults in the room noticed the two boys sidle out through the door.

"That's what Aunt Minnie said. She took Mena to her family once I told her that I was fairly certain that I could get Harry to Sirius. After all, it's not as if I didn't grow up across the square from..." She tried to say the place, but no words came out.

Remus stared at the young woman, his brow furrowed, contemplating.

"So the Fidelius Charm does work on you, but then how could you find it?" Sirius questioned the room at large, puzzled.

"Why didn't you think it wouldn't work on Janet?" Alice asked. Sirius glanced at Janet questioningly. Once he received her nod of assent, he answered.

"Cal- sorry," he winced once he caught sight of the furious glare that Janet levelled at him. "Janet is a Squib. I wasn't exactly sure how the charm would affect her."

"A Squib? But the charm really isn't any different for anyone, whether wizard, Muggle or Squib. A Muggle repellent charm might be a different story, but not the Fidelius," Alice commented.

Remus sat forward on his seat, steepling his fingers beneath his chin.

"Janet, when you were young, how did you first come to this place?" the werewolf asked.

"Well, my sister Pandora and I were playing in the square in front of our house when a strange boy came over to join in. A little while later, he pointed out where he lived," Janet answered, very confused by the question.

"Did he say the address as well as point?" Remus pressed. Janet simply nodded wordlessly.

"Ah, I see now, Remus, what you're getting at," Alice exclaimed. "Because Sirius, who is the Secret-keeper had told her before, she could find it now."

"But how is it that the knowledge wasn't wiped like with you and Remus?" Sirius queried.

Remus shrugged. "I've read several theories about Squibs and how magic does and does not affect them." Turning to Janet, he asked, "Has magic ever affected you differently than say your sisters?"

"I don't know," Janet admitted.

"Wait," Alice interjected. "Janet, do you see the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Of course," she responded.

"Ah, but you shouldn't," Remus said.

"What do you mean? Why ever not?" Janet questioned.

"The Leaky Cauldron has a Muggle Repellent Charm on it, so your eyes should skim right past it. You shouldn't be able to see it if you're not a wizard. I think this is just proof that Squibs are different from both Muggles and wizards," Remus postulated.

Ottery St. Catchpole

Ron hovered on his broomstick, just below the tree line in a spot that allowed him to see the path to the Burrow without providing people travelling the path the same opportunity. He recognized the austere woman from his vision about Ginny coming home. Smiling to himself, he wondered what his mum would think when she went upstairs to convert Bill's room for Ginny.

Just the day before, Ron had once again accidentally touched skin to skin with his mum, sending him into a vision. This one had shown his mum getting hurt by a charm that Bill had placed on something in his room that she tried to move. Yet, it wasn't until this morning when he came down for breakfast that he remembered his mum wearing the same clothes in both his vision about her getting hurt in Bill's room and the one where Ginny came home and she was wearing those clothes today.

As soon as he had finished with his breakfast, the eleven year old had scurried up the stairs and quickly transferred his clothes, posters and the rest of things up to the room that the family called the attic. He pondered the fact that he had been considering moving up there since Bill had moved out, but nothing had ever really provided him with the impetus. Now however, Ginny needed that room more than he did. Besides, there would be little chance that he would run into anyone unaware, like he had so many times coming out of his old room. All in all, the redhead thought the move would be a good one all the way around.

Before he had come outside to fly, he had left the door to his room wide open and then he deliberately brushed past his mum, touching her on the arm. The vision had changed, which meant he knew that she wouldn't go into Bill's room now.

Knowing what was occurring in the house, the boy leaned down low over the handle of the broomstick and darted across the field in a speed drill, just like his brother Charlie had taught him. _No point in going in too soon_, he thought. _I'll meet my little sister again soon enough_.

Grimmauld Place

Harry followed the boy down the hallway to the kitchen. The boy crossed to what looked similar to a refrigerator, but something seemed a little off to Harry, even though he couldn't quite place what it was.

"Sorry about that. Mum gets a little excited, especially when something she's been hoping for a long time happens finally," the strange boy said. "Since she kind of forgot to introduce us, my name is Neville. Would you like a butterbeer?"

"A what?" Harry asked.

"A butterbeer. It's a drink. Haven't you ever had it before?" When Harry shook his head, Neville seemed to nod to himself. "Well, it's time you found out what you're missing."

"But it's beer. We can't drink that yet. We're not old enough," Harry protested.

"What do you mean we're not old enough? It's not firewhisky, after all!" Neville responded.

Harry just shook his head, clearly indicating that he didn't need anything. Nothing made sense to him. A strange woman showing up and saying that he's magical, his floor mother agreeing and bringing him here to his godfather's house, a place he couldn't even see before his godfather whispered something in his ear, unknown people surrounding him. His confusion clouded his mind to the point that he could see nothing in front of him nor hear any sounds around him.

The Ministry

Arthur Weasley sat at his desk, his eyes firmly pinpointed on the tea pot inscribed with small oleander flowers that hung in mid-air in front of him, slowly rotating. The set had been sent to him to inspect by Kingsley Shacklebolt. Evidently the tea set had been found at what the Aurors suspected was a crime scene, but could find no magical proof. The dead body of one Alistair Winston was found in front of a smouldering fireplace with no one else around. His wife Zara and stepson Blaise were found in Diagon Alley, purchasing Blaise's Hogwarts supplies.

The sudden appearance of a tabby cat with square markings around its eyes startled Arthur Weasley so much that the tea pot and its matching cups went flying through the air and shattered on the floor next to the doorway. Yet, the message the cat relayed to him rattled him so much that he rushed out the door without bothering to clean up after himself. In fact, the wizard didn't even think about what could possibly happen to anyone who would try to clean up the mess.


	52. Reassurances

A/N: I know, I know, a long time, no write. I will finish this story, never fear. There are about two more chapters and the next one has already been written, but won't be posted until I finish writing the following chapter (which should be the final chapter of this part of the story). Thanks as always to my fabulous beta, J!

Chapter 51—Reassurances

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place

Now that his curiosity regarding how Calliope, he shook his head at himself, _Janet_ found him was satisfied, Sirius wanted to find out everything he could about his godson. While Alice and Remus continued to discuss the effects of magic on Squibs, Sirius glanced around the room, looking for Harry. Not seeing his godson anywhere, the wizard exited the room to find him.

Halfway down the hall, Sirius heard a voice behind him call his name.

"Sirius? Where are you going?" the soft voice of one of his best friends growing up called behind him.

"I'm going to find Harry. There's so much I have to learn about him. I've missed so much. How long has he been with you?" he asked.

"Six years or thereabouts. He was dropped off shortly after Mena arrived. Sirius, why wasn't Harry living with you?" Janet answered.

"Because I was wrongly imprisoned in Azkaban until about the time he was dropped off with you. Luckily, Alice fought to get me released. Tell me something about Harry."

"What do you want to know?"

"Anything really," Sirius requested.

"Well, his favourite animals seem to be lions. We've visited the zoo several times and that's what he's requested seeing almost every time," Janet offered.

"Wonder if he remembers the stuffed lion that was a permanent fixture in his cot?" Sirius wondered aloud. A shout coming from the kitchen sent both adults running.

* * *

The Burrow

Arthur Weasley rushed into his home, worried as to what he would find. Getting a Patronus from one of his favourite professors had scared him. His eyes frantically searched first the kitchen before finally alighting on the two females that were seated in the sitting room. The adrenaline that had been coursing through his blood slowed, causing him to lean his hands on his knees in an effort to catch his breath. Once his body was back under his control, he joined the duo in the sitting room, completely missing the youngest female sitting on the floor beside the fireplace.

Arthur crossed to kiss his wife before sitting beside her on the couch. Pausing in mid-greeting of his professor, he couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the small form hugging the stuffed green dragon to her torso. "Ginny?" his voice wavered.

"Yes, Arthur. It really is her. It's our little girl," Molly murmured to him, grabbing his hand in hers. He squeezed hers gently before releasing it to hold his arms out to his daughter. Seeing the panic in her body language, he slowly lowered them. As much as he knew this was his daughter, he forced himself to remember that she had no memories of them, so of course she wouldn't come running into his arms.

Sitting down beside Ginny on the floor, he motioned toward the dragon. "I don't know if you know this, but your older brother Charlie begged me to take him shopping the day after you were born. When we arrived at Diagon Alley, our shopping centre, he tugged and pulled me all the way down the walkway in his excitement. He knew exactly what he wanted to buy you. We went into the shop and he headed straight for the dragons. I asked him why dragons and not unicorns. He said, and I quote 'Dad, a unicorn is pretty, but Ginny needs a dragon for protection. Nothing can happen to our princess.' I smiled at that and bought you a unicorn while your brother brought you the dragon." He smiled misty-eyed. "When we went to get you and your mother from the hospital, we presented you with both animals. Yet, right away, you latched your tiny hand on the tail of the dragon." He shook his head gently. "My unicorn never stood a chance."

"Are you really my father?" the young girl asked in a small voice, bringing her eyes to meet his for the very first time. His heart jumped into his throat when he realized that her eyes were still the exact colour of his.

"Oh, Ginny," he whispered. His tear-filled eyes watched as he tentatively reached out a hand toward her hair. Arthur hesitated before running a hand over her hair and tucking a lock behind her ear. "Yes, you are most definitely my little girl."

Letting out a small sob, Ginny asked, "But how can you be so sure?"

"How could I not know my own daughter? While yes, you've grown quite a bit from when I last saw you, your hair is still the same Weasley red. Your chin, your lips, your nose- the same. When you were born, I memorized your every feature. I drank in everything about you: your scent, the way your eyes sparkled when you smiled, your laugh. My little love, there is no way I couldn't know who you are."

She shot him a watery smile. He cautiously edged an arm around her shoulders, knowing that a full blown hug was probably not in the cards yet. He was pleasantly shocked when she leaned into him. For a few quiet moments, he shared his strength with her, relishing the interaction with the child he thought he had lost.

* * *

Grimmauld Place

The moment she heard shouting, her floor mother instincts kicked in, causing Janet to race toward the origin of the sound. She fairly flew down the steps leading to the kitchen and threw open the door only to find Harry standing close to the table, staring sightlessly at the wall. Quickly looking around, she vaguely registered the other boy standing near the icebox with bottles of butterbeer lying shattered on the floor at his feet.

"Harry!" Janet called as she knelt before him. "Harry! Snap out of it. You're okay. You're safe." She gently placed her hands on her charge's shoulders, making sure that he was comfortable with the contact before pulling him into her arms. Harry was trembling. Her eyes took in the room as she waited for him to calm.

There were several things unusual going on in the room. The fire in the grate to her right was shooting off sparks. On the mantle above the fireplace was a clock, whose hands were spinning madly around. The wireless that was also on the mantle was switching stations every thirty seconds or so. At the sink across the room, the water faucet was turning itself on and off.

Sirius and Alice were talking to the other boy in low voices so she couldn't make out what they were saying. Janet noticed that Sirius had pulled out his wand to clean up the mess at the boy's feet when she felt Harry's shaking cease. With that, everything in the room was still and silent.


	53. A New Reality

A/N: I know that it's been a while. I'm hoping to have this finished by the end of next week. There's only one more chapter after this one. Thanks as always to my beta, J!

* * *

Chapter 52—A New Reality

The Burrow

Ron burst through the kitchen door of the Burrow, skidding to a stop just inside as if he just realized that they had company. The lessons that the twins had been giving him on portraying an innocent face seemed to be paying off since Mum didn't scold him for his entrance. He glanced around the room, immediately spotting his sister sitting at the table. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Without the use of Legilimency, he was still able to discern that she was trying to place his face. Of course, he probably wouldn't have been able to figure out where he had seen her before either if it hadn't been for the trip into the Pensieve that forever branded that particular memory into his mind.

"Do I know you?" she asked, thoughtfully. "I feel certain that I've met you before."

"Because you have, Ginny," Ron answered softly. "On the beach in Brighton." He crossed to sit next to her.

She gave a gasp. "That's right," she breathed. "But wait, weren't you there with your sister?"

"You're my only sister, Ginny. Of course, I didn't figure out that you were my sister for certain until after we got home. I was there with my best friend, Luna, for her birthday," Ron responded.

"You're my brother?" she questioned, shaking her head. "How did I not know?"

"How were you supposed to? We were both very little when you were taken," Ron reasoned. "I would have been shocked if you had known I was your brother."

She thought that over for a bit before asking, "So which one are you? I mean, obviously you're not Bill or Charlie as." Ron watched her hesitate over her choice of words, paying close attention to her expression. Confusion was the most prevalent emotion emanating out of her face. Ginny continued, "Well, I was told that Bill is in..." His sister tilted her head again, thinking. "Egypt and Charlie is in... a country that starts with an R. Russia? No, that doesn't sound right. Rwanda?"

As she dropped her head in thought, Ron just let her mumble her way through several countries that start with R before she hit upon Romania.

"Romania! That's where they said he was. Romania working with dragons, but dragons don't exist, do they?" Ginny looked up at him. "So unless you can fly super fast, you can't get back here from those countries instantaneously. Which means you're one of the others. But I don't know which one."

"I'm Ron, the one closest to you in age." He held out his hand for her to shake deliberately. "It's nice to finally meet the real youngest in the family." When she grasped his hand, it happened exactly as he expected.

_The train platform was crowded as expected for the day that students were to return to Hogwarts. Families were saying their goodbyes. Ron was pushing his cart up to a compartment when he saw his sister take off down the platform toward a dark haired boy. She threw her arms around him, hugging him tight. The boy wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and twirling her. He set her down and turned her toward the Longbottoms. He watched as Ginny pulled the boy and Neville toward their family._

Number Twelve Grimmauld Place

Alice paused for a moment in the doorway to the kitchen, her eyes sweeping the room, taking in the chaos that inhabited it. Deciding that Janet was handling her godson, she made her way to her son, who was standing with a shattered butterbeer bottle at his feet. The female Auror ran her hands down from Neville's shoulders to his hands while sinking to her knees. Gripping them in hers, her eyes searched Neville's face.

"Are you okay, Neville? What's going on? What happened?" Alice threw out the questions in a rush.

"I'm okay, Mum, really," Neville answered. He shook his head slowly as if to sort the images into an order. "I introduced myself to Harry and offered him a butterbeer. He told me that we weren't old enough to drink that and then everything went kind of crazy."

Alice caught a glimpse of Sirius waving his wand in various motions over Neville's shoulder. She rose to her feet and turned to her host.

"What do you think? It's just Harry's accidental magic, right?" Alice suggested.

Sirius let out a noncommittal hmmm before answering. "Maybe." The look in his eyes let Alice know that Sirius wasn't sure about her theory more than his response. His mind was clearly working at full speed. Shrugging, she decided to believe that it was nothing more than Harry's accidental magic making its presence known.

Sirius swept his wand in a tight circle, vanishing the mess created by the butterbeer. The instant the puddle of liquid disappeared, everything in the room came to a complete and abrupt halt. The sudden silence of the room caused an awkwardness that Alice found hard to combat. Everything that had been chaotic was now back in its normal working order, looking like nothing had ever happened.

"Miss Stephens," Harry's voice was very low, making Alice focus very hard to hear him. "When can we go home?" Harry had his head down, looking at his right foot that he was moving back and forth, worrying a hole in the kitchen tile. Alice recalled seeing that very same look and movement from her best friend back in first year. Janet ducked her head to be able to see Harry's eyes under the fringe of hair that was shielding him from everyone else.

"Harry, this is your home—" Janet started before Alice interrupted her.

After finally registering what her godson said, Alice was shocked into speaking. "Well, actually, one of your homes now. Speaking of, Sirius, we have to decide where Harry should live for the rest of the summer before he goes to Hogwarts."

"I think actually the first thing that needs to happen is true introductions to Harry and maybe explanations are in order as well," Janet suggested. "Harry, I'm sorry that we got kind of sidetracked earlier. I didn't mean to ignore you." Wrapping her arm around Harry's shoulder while she remained on her knees, she gestured toward the dark-haired male. "According to Aunt Minnie, this man is your godfather. His name is Sirius Black. He was a friend of mine during my childhood, much like Mena is yours."

"Is he a wizard like the lady said I was?" Harry whispered in her ear.

"Oh yes," Janet's eyes sparkled as she answered. "He is."

"I'm Alice Longbottom, Harry. I'm your godmother. Your parents chose Sirius and I to be your godparents as we were their best friends. This is Neville, my son, your godbrother. He's only a day older than you."

"I don't know anything about my parents," Harry replied in a low tone. "I didn't even know that my dad's name was James until he" Harry pointed to Sirius, "said so."

"Well, we can tell you all about both of them. Harry, I know this must be very unsettling for you, but know that both Sirius and I have been looking for you for years. Your parents were very dear to both of us and we'll always be there for you no matter what. Do you have any questions for us? I know that I'll answer anything you want to ask," Alice commented.

"I will as well, Harry," Sirius added.

The Burrow

Ron was showing Ginny her new room when she heard a loud clamour from the floor below. She startled at how much the sound carried through the house.

"Oh, that's our twin brothers, Fred and George," Ron stated. "It can be quite difficult to tell the two apart so don't feel bad if you call them by their twin's name. They're used to it."

The two were sitting on the bed, looking over the things that their mother had added for her daughter. As feet were heard climbing the stairs, Ron offered a warning.

"Just to let you know, never eat anything that the twins give you. They fancy themselves pranksters, modelling themselves after this group they call the Marauders." He rolled his eyes. "I don't know where they came up with that, but I'm just giving you fair warning."

A flame haired head popped around the doorframe.

"Hey, we resemble that remark just a bit, but we would never prank our dear wee sister on her first day home," one of the twins said.

"Oh, indeed, only starting on her second day home," the other agreed.

"How about not pranking me at all?" Ginny offered. She bolstered her courage through thoughts of Harry and how he would expect her to behave. "After all, I think I got enough of that from the boys at Harper Place," she muttered.

Both twins straightened from where they had been lounging against the doorframe. "Wait a minute. Who do we need to go take care of for pranking our baby sister? We're the only ones allowed to prank our family." Ginny caught sight of their very indignant look and didn't quite know how to take their reaction.

"There will be no pranking of Muggles," their mother informed them coolly as she joined them in the hallway. "Besides, I'm sure that Ginny more than took care of them whether she realizes it or not."

"What do you mean?" Ginny asked, unsure how of this conversation was going.

"Well, you're magical and when magical children's emotions are heightened, their magic reacts, trying to soothe them and make them feel better. If these boys made you mad, then your magic probably viewed that as a threat and responded to it as such. For instance, when Ron was three, Fred turned his teddy bear into a stuffed spider with moving parts while Ron was holding the bear. Well, of course, Ron's magic reacted. The spider exploded, showering everything in the room with white fluff. So your magic would have responded to those boys," Molly reassured her.

Ginny couldn't help but wonder if she would ever feel comfortable anywhere.

Grimmauld Place

After about an hour and a half of stories and explanations, Janet could tell that Harry was wearying and could use a rest. She stood from the table at which everyone was seated in the kitchen and stretched. Glancing around the table, the floor mother was heartened to see a camaraderie building between Harry and Neville, not unlike the one between Harry and Mena. Oh, she meant Ginny now. Thinking of her charges gave Janet cause to remember the paperwork she had waiting back at Harper Place for her to complete. The young woman let out a sigh.

"What's the matter, Miss Stephens?" Harry asked.

"It's time for me to get back to Harper Place, Harry. I have to finalize some paperwork for you and for Mena. I don't want to leave you, but I'm afraid I must. But I'm going to make sure that Sirius, your godfather knows how to find me, alright? Promise me that you'll have them owl me or come get me if you need me." Seeing Harry's downcast look, she wrapped her arms around him. She leant down to whisper in his ear. "You'll be fine. Your godparents love you. That is decidedly obvious. In fact, I imagine that they will be fighting over whom you're going to live with in a matter of minutes."

No sooner than the words had left her lips, Sirius was heard arguing with Alice over the very matter.

"Sirius, I think Harry should come home with me for now. He can get to know Neville and Evan," Alice stated very brusquely, anticipating a fight from Harry's godfather.

"Absolutely not. He should stay here with me. I can take care of him, just like James would have wanted," Sirius bellowed. Harry looked between the two of them with bewilderment in his eyes.

"But, Sirius, you're going to get to spend the whole year with him at Hogwarts. Let me have my time with him. Please?" Alice pleaded, giving Sirius the puppy dog eyes that she knew would work.

"Why don't you simply ask Harry whom he wants to live with for now?" Janet suggested calmly, resulting in two heads swivelling toward her with scowls on their faces.

Harry, uncertain of being placed in the middle of his godparents, asked, "What did you mean, Aunt Alice, that Sirius would be able to see me all year?"

"Harry, you got your invitation to Hogwarts today, right?" Sirius questioned. Seeing Harry's nod, he continued, "I'm going to be teaching a class there this year so I'll be living in the castle with you."

"Wait, Hogwarts is a castle? I'll be living there?" Harry stammered out, flabbergasted.

"Yes, Harry. Hogwarts is a boarding school. Of course for holidays, you'll be able to return home to either my house or here with Sirius. But that is entirely up to you," Alice responded.

"Well, if you're going to be with me, Sirius, where I'll see you most every day, then can I please stay with Aunt Alice until we have to leave?" Harry requested.

"Of course you can," Alice answered. Shooting a triumphant grin at Sirius, she was unsurprised when Sirius stuck his tongue out at her.

"I imagine that this has been very disconcerting for Harry," Janet offered. "If I may make a suggestion, I think it might be best if Harry was taken to his new home and allowed some time to process all that he has already discovered today. I'm sure that the both of you will be available to answer any questions that Harry might have at a later time, correct?" After getting a nod from both, she turned back to her former charge. Janet tipped his head up to meet her eyes with a quick push from her pointer finger.

Harry gave a brief nod, but still looked like he was completely lost. She cringed inside, knowing that when she left, he would be alone with strangers. However, the floor mother did not know what she could do. Legally, she had no claim on the boy whom she had loved and watched over for so long. Janet knew that Harry's transition wouldn't be an easy one, but it would have to happen sometime. She figured it might as well happen now, especially since Sirius and Alice would be able to help Harry in transitioning to the Wizarding world and Hogwarts so much better than she would.

Sensing the lingering tension, Alice tried to distract them all. "Well, boys, should we go introduce Harry to his other godbrother and his godsister? Neville, perhaps we can go to Diagon Alley tomorrow. Just you, Harry and I. What do you say?" Alice queried.

"That sounds fantastic, Mum! Thanks!" Neville answered. The trio made their way to the fireplace as Harry got a crash course in how to use the Floo. They disappeared in a flash of green.

Sirius looked over to Janet, gratitude and relief in his eyes. "Thank you for taking care of him so well all these years," he murmured. "I'll never be able to thank you enough."

"No thanks are necessary. Harry and Mena both just make you love them. Life on my floor will never be same without them there. I'm going to miss them terribly," Janet replied. "Now I need to go complete the paperwork. I probably also need to gather all of their things from their rooms. Do you know of a way that I can get Mena's, I mean, Ginny's things to her?"

"Why don't we Apparate to your place and then I can take them to the Burrow where the Weasleys live?" Sirius suggested.

"Don't you have to know where it is you're going to Apparate? You don't know Harper Place and there really isn't a good place for you to Apparate to there anyway. So if you want to come back with me, you'll have to do it the Muggle way," Janet retorted.

Sirius shrugged his shoulders and gestured toward his front door. "Lead on, my lady. I'm game if you are." He followed her out the door.


End file.
